\n
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFormer Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington has opened up about dealing with hurtful comments about her weight and appearance while competing for Team GB, aged 19.<\/p>\n
The four-time Olympic gold medalist and BBC pundit, who made her debut at the 2008 Beijing Games and won the 400 and 800 metres freestyle, has said in a new interview that she \u201cblocked everyone out\u201d while dealing with public criticism of her body.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had won an Olympic medal \u2013 but the media was saying I was too fat. That I wasn\u2019t in shape. I kept thinking: What am I too fat for? Yes, I\u2019ve got big shoulders, but they\u2019re my power,\u201d she told the i<\/em>.<\/p>\nShe added: \u201cI was 19 and people were openly saying how ugly I was. I was still a baby. It was incredibly difficult to navigate because I knew I wasn\u2019t attractive. I\u2019ve never considered myself one of the pretty girls. But I didn\u2019t realise you had to be stunning to be an Olympic athlete.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it was very normal to have a tall body frame and big shoulders. Swimming is a very exposing sport; you are in a swimsuit. But people in swimming clubs do not look at one another as fat or thin. I look at people and think they\u2019re in shape.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adlington said that she felt the \u201cmost sorry\u201d for her parents, because they would see the hateful messages \u201cabout their little girl\u201d.<\/p>\n
To cope, the athlete kept a tight-knit circle around her and \u201cblocked everyone else out\u201d.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Rebecca Adlington celebrates winning the women\u2019s 400m freestyle final in Beijing, 2008 (PA Archive)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know how I got through it. I don\u2019t think I handled it the best way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Adlington, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, retired from competitive swimming aged 23, and now works as a well-known face in BBC Olympic commentary and runs Swim!, a school that teaches children to swim.<\/p>\n
She shares a son, Albie, with her husband Andy Parsons. She also has a daughter, Summer, from her first marriage to swimmer and personal trainer Harry Needs.<\/p>\n
Adlington has recently been using her platform to raise awareness of coeliac disease, which she was diagnosed with after experiencing recurring miscarriages.<\/p>\n
Coeliac disease is a condition where the immune system attacks a person\u2019s tissues when they consume gluten, a protein naturally found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye, which can damage the small intestine.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Adlington pictured in 2023 (Dominic Lipinski\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cLooking back, I\u2019ve had symptoms for a couple of years, but I was not aware that the disease was linked to fertility and miscarriage,\u201d Adlington said in the same interview.<\/p>\n
She said that doctors initially thought she had gastroenteritis \u2013 an inflammation of the stomach and intestines \u2013 but doctors tested her for coeliac disease after he recurring miscarriages.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think my symptoms worsened with my second pregnancy with my son Albie,\u201d she said, adding: \u201cI put the fatigue down to my hormones changing so much with getting pregnant. I would have a painful stomach and bloating.\u201d <\/p>\n
In March, Adlington partnered with the charity Coeliac UK and handed a petition to the UK government to highlight the importance of protecting access to gluten-free prescriptions for people with the disease.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Former Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington has opened up about dealing with hurtful comments about her weight and appearance while competing for Team GB, aged 19. The four-time Olympic gold medalist and BBC pundit, who made her debut at the 2008 Beijing Games and won the 400 and 800 metres freestyle, has said in a new interview that she \u201cblocked everyone out\u201d while dealing with public criticism of her body. \u201cI had won an Olympic medal \u2013 but the media was saying I was too fat. That I wasn\u2019t in shape. I kept thinking: What am I too fat for? Yes, I\u2019ve got big shoulders, but they\u2019re my power,\u201d she told the i. She added: \u201cI was 19 and people were openly saying how ugly I was. I was still a baby. It was incredibly difficult to navigate because I knew I wasn\u2019t attractive. I\u2019ve never considered myself one of the pretty girls. But I didn\u2019t realise you had to be stunning to be an Olympic athlete. \u201cFor me, it was very normal to have a tall body frame and big shoulders. Swimming is a very exposing sport; you are in a swimsuit. But…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1646"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}