Rebecca Adlington: Famous fitness fans are just as inspiring as athletes ... and they’re less scary!
Double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington has praised famous fitness fans such as Ellie Goulding, saying they inspire people to be active as much as professional athletes do.
Adlington, 27, said celebrities provide a “more achievable” example while Olympians can appear intimidating.
“It is fashionable to be into fitness now,” she added. “You see celebrities like Millie Mackintosh and Ellie Goulding working out. I think that is important to have. I think they do as much to inspire people to get fit as athletes.
“It is a bit intimidating looking at Olympians and people think we are super-human. People like Ellie and Millie are more achievable for people starting out.”
Adlington, who won gold in the 400m and 800m freestyle in Beijing in 2008 and bronze in both distances in London four years ago, was speaking as a 12ft by 40ft sculpture of her was unveiled in The Serpentine in Hyde Park today. It was created to mark the Rio Olympics by Kellogg’s, Team GB’s official sponsor.
“I couldn’t quite believe it,” she said. “[The Serpentine] is one of those places that so many people walk past and so a lot of people will see it. As long as it reminds them about Rio and gets Londoners behind Team GB I think it is a great idea.”
The swimmer, who has a one-year-old daughter, Summer, believes parents should encourage their children to get fit. She said: “Being a mum you realise how important it is to get your kids active from an early age. I know it is hard for busy people to make time for doing stuff together.
“But it is down to parents to get their children active from a young age. My parents did that for us [Adlington and her sisters] and it shaped how active we all are.”
Adlington, who is separated from husband and fellow swimmer Harry Needs, would love to see her daughter follow in her parents’ footsteps. “I swim with my little girl,” she said. “I would love for her to enjoy swimming as much as I do and for her to be involved in sport.
Read More
“Sport has given me so much. I have travelled the world, met fantastic people. Not everyone wants to compete and I understand that, but it would be great to see her compete one day if that is what she wanted to do.”
She also backed recent campaigns — such as sanitary firm Always’s #LikeAGirl, lingerie brand BlueBella’s Be Strong Be Beautiful and Sport England’s This Girl Can — which encourage teenage girls to be active and not quit sports simply to fit in with their peers. Adlington said: “I found my confidence when I started swimming. Being a teenager is hard and you go through a lot but I became confident because of sport.”
She believes Rio will be a success, despite issues such as the Zika virus. “Every Olympics is special,” she said. “There is always something. In Beijing it was the smog and in London it was the transport. I know Zika is a health risk but athletes know the risks. I think Rio will be as good as London.”