Rebecca Adlington Retires

Nothing aginst her, but she's 23 and she says she can no longer compete against 16 year olds and it's taking her longer and longer to recover between sessions.That sounds familiar. The 800 metres must be quite a tough event. I think I'd struggle to run it quicker than her swimming it.image

Comments

  • Is swimming a young persons game ? Seems mad that you're over the hill at 23.

    Plenty of other sports would consider 23 to be too young to peak ?



    It does explain why I'm crap at swimming though.
  • elite swimmers do tend to be young. I wonder why the longer swimming distances don't have much older athletes competing in them? i.e. if we accept the example from running that people can peak much older in endurance events, then why is swimming so biased in favour of the young uns?

  • Is it more a case of they get started so much earlier than other sports and can spend hours practicing without the impact injuries stopping them ? So its more burn out rather than a physical thing ?
  • I may well be wrong so please feel free to correct me but did she not beat her Beijing time in 2012 and that there were still 2 people who could swim it quicker than her?



    If that is correct, it must be pretty demoralising to know you have trained hard for the Olympics, beaten your time, yet still didn't win.



    I guess she looked at herself compared with the youngsters coming through and decided there was no point in continuing if other factors meant she would never win.



    Just my opinion image
  • cougie wrote (see)
    Is it more a case of they get started so much earlier than other sports and can spend hours practicing without the impact injuries stopping them ? So its more burn out rather than a physical thing ?

    about right Cougs.  P was a competitive swimmer as a kid and into her teens - by the time she got to Uni she'd had enough of the daft o'clock training starts

    about 20 years ago most top swimmers were in their teens but ages have crept up into the 20s in the last 10 years or so.  I think Mark Foster was competing into his 30's??

    Adlington's been at the top of her game for near enough the last 6 years so has had a good crack.  happy retirement

  • StiltsStilts ✭✭✭
    She's been a great athelete and competitor and outstanding for British women's swimming/sport in general - as a parent to 2 daughters I am quite tuned in to women in sport and don't even get me started on women's sports coverage in the media (ie still pretty non-existent).



    Lucky enough to see her swim heats at the Olympics and the overwhelming crowd support for her was memorable. Happy retirement although somehow I think it's not the last we'll see of her.
  • cougie wrote (see)
    Is swimming a young persons game ? Seems mad that you're over the hill at 23.

    Maybe she's just a lazy layabout

  • skottyskotty ✭✭✭

    She's too busy running the Frankie Boyle fan club.

  • I am actually wondering why she doesn't want to try a different sport.  Sarah Storey switched from swimming to cycling and look what happened to her.

  • According to the interview, she's going to be working on a project to ensure that every child leaves primary school being able to swim at least 25m image

  • I think most swimmers probably pack up once their parents stop making them go - let's be honest - compared to most sports it's boring, hard and there's no money in it.   Unless you are winning Olympic medals why would you bother ?  

  • She'd probably make a very good rower: races of similar duration, lots of upper body strength, willingness to train silly hours.  She'd be a shoe-in.

  • popsider wrote (see)

    I think most swimmers probably pack up once their parents stop making them go - let's be honest - compared to most sports it's boring, hard and there's no money in it.   Unless you are winning Olympic medals why would you bother ?  

    thats exactly what i did and struggle like mad now to swim (beached whale comes to mind)

  • popsider wrote (see)

    I think most swimmers probably pack up once their parents stop making them go - let's be honest - compared to most sports it's boring, hard and there's no money in it.   Unless you are winning Olympic medals why would you bother ?  

    I've heard tons of people describe what we do like that....  I'm glad that Mo, Paula and Kelly didn't retire at 23...

    It is a shame that Adlington's not going to be at the Commonwealths in Glasgow.

  • I don't think age or physical ability has anything to do with it. If you aren't 100% committed mentally then there will be plenty of others out there who are. If she admits she's not capable of being up for it any more then she has made a wise decision.
  • they all have to decide: can i put up with 4 more years of hell?

    most, like rebecca adlington, probably say no.ian thorpe retired early too. he hadn't had a childhood. decided he'd have one in his 20s,

    michael phelps is still going...but he's michael phelps.

     

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭

    I remember a promising swimmer at my school packed it in as he simply used it as a line to get into a Uni he wanted to get into.

    Couldn't believe it!

    Quitting at 23 though. Just sounds bonkers.

    I suppose a home games can be an ideal time to go out though.

  • my wee nephew is a bit of a swimming hotshot, but at 13 it's make-or-break time in terms of his development.

    the training is a bitch. he doesn't seem to mind... "i can eat ANYTHING I want", he says image

  • swimming is fairly boring

    hope she stays in the spotlight because she's quite fit!

  • Fit as in able to swim fast? Yes
  • "i can eat ANYTHING I want",

    A work colleague's son and friends are like that - they are rowers. I am told after their training sessions there's no conversation, just stuffing pasta inside them as fast as they can go.

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