Rebecca Adlington to provide mentoring support to young swimmers
Double Olympic gold medallist swimmer Rebecca Adlington will support a group of British swimmers as part of a new mentoring programme.
Adlington, who retired from competitive swimming last year, will use her experience as Britain's most successful swimmer to mentor six young athletes from the World Class Swimming Programme.
The Freestyle swimmer said: "I really wanted to get involved in a mentoring programme because I know how easy it can be within sport to feel on your own. Having the opportunity to talk through issues or concerns with someone outside of your usual support network can really help, which is one of the main aims of the programme.
"I've already made contact with most of the group and everyone seems really open to the programme. It's completely up to the athletes how often we talk but what's important is that they feel they can come to me with anything. If they've had a bad training session, or are concerned about something I hope they will contact me so we can talk through it.
"I'm really keen to pass on any advice I may have gained through my experience of swimming and do all that I can to support the next generation of medallists."
British Swimming Head Coach Bill Furniss, who steered Adlington to two Olympic gold medals in Beijing and double bronze in London, said: "We have identified a group of six athletes that Rebecca will work with to help provide an additional support mechanism.
"Rebecca has a great deal of experience and with that comes a unique perspective about what it takes to produce at the highest level. I am sure that sharing her advice about how to handle situations and expectations will be very valuable to these young athletes."
Stockport Metro swimmer Lauren Quigley, said: "The programme is a really good idea and I am looking forward to being able to access Becky's support and expertise as much as I need.
"Having someone other than my coach or immediate friends and family to help with decisions or hard times will be really useful. I'm also hoping to pick up some extra tips and knowledge from Becky's years of being involved with swimming to help with my own journey."
As part of the programme Adlington will also be working with the swimmers' coaches, providing insight into athlete perceptions of coaches and training.
Swimmers taking part in the Rebecca Adlington Athlete Mentor Programme are: