Rebecca Adlington retires....at 23

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  • Conor the BoldConor the Bold Posts: 1,813
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    Incidentally Adlington had already stated she would not be competing in Rio back in September of last year as she would be too old, and also stated that swimming commonwealth games was a possibility or not.

    I fail to see the why the fuss. I really do.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/swimming/19690827
  • premixxedpremixxed Posts: 3,364
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    80sfan wrote: »
    Any idea how much she is worth?

    Negotiations are still being discussed..
  • TrollHunterTrollHunter Posts: 12,496
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    I've got this mental image of a whole bunch of obese posters, stabbing away with their chubby, wotsit covered fingers, desperately thinking up more ways to belittle Adlington while their blood pressure keeps rising and rising.

    They hate swimming and everything to do with it following a perilous summer holiday in Bridlington where they finally plucked up the courage to go into the sea for a splash and a paddle but were instantly surrounded by a plethora of Japanese fisherman clutching harpoons. Thar she blows :D

    (I appreciate this says more about me than it does them!!!)
  • Jen-BJen-B Posts: 3,412
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    Incidentally Adlington had already stated she would not be competing in Rio back in September of last year as she would be too old, and also stated that swimming commonwealth games was a possibility or not.

    I fail to see the why the fuss. I really do.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/swimming/19690827

    Same. She's had a glittering career, the likes of which many Olympians will never see.

    She's our first Olympic swimming champion since 1988 and the first British swimmer to win two Olympic gold medals since 1908.

    I've put that into a paragraph of its own so people can read it. Her career has never been 'average'. If that's average, then the rest of our athletes must be worse than mediocre. The last British Olympic swimming champion won a medal the year before she was born.

    Oh, and of course being the first British Olympic swimmer to win two gold medals in a century is distinctly average these days. :rolleyes:

    The girl who won the 800m at the 2012 Olympics was just 15 years old. At the Rio Olympics, she will be about 19, and at the peak of her physical fitness, whilst Rebecca will be 27, and I believe no woman in history has won a 800m final past the age of 22 ish.

    But, of course, we shan't let little things like facts get in the way of a good bitching session...
  • Paradise_LostParadise_Lost Posts: 6,454
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    Really?

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/swimming/20755022

    Like everything, it's a budget that has to be shared out ;) And that's not a small cut in swimming funding....it's nearly 15%!



    If a dozen people get funding in a particular sport, and one of them knows that his or her motivation isn't what it should be or was previously - then by deifinition person number 13 has been deprived of that funding....

    Many more than a dozen athletes are funded by British Swimming. Those funds extend to athletes identified at an early age for the future. Because nurturing potential swimmers from their teens is essential. It's not just the best swimmer in any event receiving funding. It's the top swimmers plus the best young swimmers targeted for future success. £21.4m in funding for Swimming. That's still doing fairly well even with the cuts.
  • Deep PurpleDeep Purple Posts: 63,255
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    She has had a remarkable career, for which she has worked harder than most commenting on her I suspect.

    She is not going to get better from now on, so I can understand her decision.

    I'm not sure why so many want to belittle, and mock her, it is a very unsavoury English attitude, whereby anyone successful becomes a target for those who have done nothing.

    Good luck to her in whatever she does.
  • Rowan HedgeRowan Hedge Posts: 3,861
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    KidMoe wrote: »
    Of course you can dislike her. Why can't you accept that people disagree with you?

    To call 2 Olympic golds and a world record average or third rate is just plain daft, and to compare her retirement age to a footballer - a sport that requires nowhere near the level of physical training and commitment that swimming does - is equally so. Even 23 is relatively old for her sport, let alone 27 or 31.

    Where have I ever said that I don't accept people can disagree with me, I don't rate anything she has done, when compared to others her age she does lack something and maybe she has realised that what she has achieved is the best she will ever do
  • Deep PurpleDeep Purple Posts: 63,255
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    Where have I ever said that I don't accept people can disagree with me, I don't rate anything she has done, when compared to others her age she does lack something and maybe she has realised that what she has achieved is the best she will ever do

    I'm sure she wont do better, but four Olympic medals over two games is not an insignificant achievement.
  • Jen-BJen-B Posts: 3,412
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    Where have I ever said that I don't accept people can disagree with me, I don't rate anything she has done, when compared to others her age she does lack something and maybe she has realised that what she has achieved is the best she will ever do

    I'll post this again so that people can read:

    She's our first Olympic swimming champion since 1988 and the first British swimmer to win two Olympic gold medals since 1908.

    How on earth, I ask you, is that 'lacking something'?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 5,526
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    Gutted to see she's retiring, had loved rooting for her during the Olympics! She seems like a really nice girl, best of luck to her. :)
  • Paradise_LostParadise_Lost Posts: 6,454
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    Incidentally Adlington had already stated she would not be competing in Rio back in September of last year as she would be too old, and also stated that swimming commonwealth games was a possibility or not.

    I fail to see the why the fuss. I really do.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/swimming/19690827

    A large proportion of the critics in this thread are rather lacking when it comes to knowledge of the sport of swimming. It seems to be a sport that many only pay attention to every four years. Of course, people are entitled to comment but many of the sour judgmental comments in here are completely baseless.
  • premixxedpremixxed Posts: 3,364
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    I've got this mental image of a whole bunch of obese posters, stabbing away with their chubby, wotsit covered fingers, desperately thinking up more ways to belittle Adlington while their blood pressure keeps rising and rising.

    They hate swimming and everything to do with it following a perilous summer holiday in Bridlington where they finally plucked up the courage to go into the sea for a splash and a paddle but were instantly surrounded by a plethora of Japanese fisherman clutching harpoons. Thar she blows :D

    (I appreciate this says more about me than it does them!!!)

    I like your creative writing.
  • tremetreme Posts: 5,445
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    jra wrote: »
    treme. I'm sure you are very nice person, but I have no idea what you are talking about most of the time. Most of what you say is just one big whoosh to me. :(

    Have you got a very high IQ for instance, because most of what you say in reply to my posts just passes me by.

    Okay, I'll try again. Right, have you ever watched X-Factor and a disgruntled contestant says to the judge "I bet I can do a better job than you could!" ?

    It's an empty retort, because the judge isn't putting himself up on the stage and professing to be able to sing. He is only judging the auditionee against people of similar "talent"

    Same here. When people say "She is a rubbish swimmer" or "He is a rubbish goalkeeper" then the retort is equally pointless, because the person criticising is only gauging performance against other swimmers / goalkeepers, and as such the opinion is valid.
  • KidMoeKidMoe Posts: 5,851
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    Where have I ever said that I don't accept people can disagree with me, I don't rate anything she has done, when compared to others her age she does lack something and maybe she has realised that what she has achieved is the best she will ever do

    She holds the world record in her event, meaning nobody in competitive swimming has ever gone faster than she has.

    Compared to others that's not lacking anything.
  • Pull2OpenPull2Open Posts: 15,138
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    Where have I ever said that I don't accept people can disagree with me, I don't rate anything she has done, when compared to others her age she does lack something and maybe she has realised that what she has achieved is the best she will ever do
    I'm sure she wont do better, but four Olympic medals over two games is not an insignificant achievement.

    And certainly does not make her a third rate swimmer!
  • Jen-BJen-B Posts: 3,412
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    Pull2Open wrote: »
    And certainly does not make her a third rate swimmer!

    In fact, statistically it makes her one of the best, if not the best, swimmer we've ever had - of either gender.
  • phylo_roadkingphylo_roadking Posts: 21,339
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    Many more than a dozen athletes are funded by British Swimming.

    But how many girls/women in RA's particular range of womens' events? ;)
    So you're saying that rather than giving funding to someone with a chance of a medal even if their motivation may not be 100%, it should be given to someone supremely motivated but not as talented who will only ever be an also-ran?
    Those funds extend to athletes identified at an early age for the future. Because nurturing potential swimmers from their teens is essential. It's not just the best swimmer in any event receiving funding. It's the top swimmers plus the best young swimmers targeted for future success.

    THAT's how it's done. You spot talent early as well as fund the best.
  • Jason100Jason100 Posts: 17,222
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    jra wrote: »
    And. What is she going to do now.

    Dole office? Benefits?

    Someone had to mention it. :D
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
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    I don't think she's made a shedload of money as some posters on here seem to think she has.
    She was under a lot of pressure during the Olympics, as many thought all she had to do was turn up & she'd win gold. She's probably had enough of all the training & the pressure on her shoulders. Inhaling all that chlorine can't be good for her health. :)
  • codebluecodeblue Posts: 14,072
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    She will simply be a z-list zelebrity for the next 40 years.

    Every two years she will trot out the old frankie boyle line and sell a story to the press
  • lemoncurdlemoncurd Posts: 57,778
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    Jason100 wrote: »
    Dole office? Benefits?

    Someone had to mention it. :D

    Well, if she's retiring, I presume she'll be drawing down on her pension?
  • LostFoolLostFool Posts: 90,623
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    lemoncurd wrote: »
    Well, if she's retiring, I presume she'll be drawing down on her pension?

    She won't need to touch that for another 40-odd years. She's not going to be short of TV and media work over the next few years plus there is sure to be an inevitable autobiography.

    If anyone should be worried it's Sharon Davies. There's now a younger girl looking for TV work.
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,189
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    Where have I ever said that I don't accept people can disagree with me, I don't rate anything she has done, when compared to others her age she does lack something and maybe she has realised that what she has achieved is the best she will ever do

    According to the Wikipedia List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women) All-time medal table 1912-2008 GB's women have only ever won six Gold medals, with Rebecca Adlington winning two of them.

    She still holds the 800m World Record, a record that stood for 19 years, and is the first GB swimmer, male or female, to have won two Olympic gold medals since 1908.

    She is the most successful British Olympic swimmer for over 100 years and yet you consider her achievements "average" or "third rate" so, in a British context, precisely who do you rate above her in achievements for someone of her age?
  • Glawster2002Glawster2002 Posts: 15,189
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    codeblue wrote: »
    She will simply be a z-list zelebrity for the next 40 years.

    Every two years she will trot out the old frankie boyle line and sell a story to the press

    Really?

    I think she will do very nicely for herself. She seems a natural in front of the camera so there will be Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and Olympic Games. swimming coverage every couple of years, plus coaching and personal appearance work.

    She won't starve.
  • Alt-F4Alt-F4 Posts: 10,960
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    jra wrote: »
    And. What is she going to do now.

    Sea world, entertaining visitors
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