“Now I have learnt to deal with it and most of the pressure comes from myself. I’ve worked with a psychologist, external and that has really helped because he is someone separate from the sport and who puts things into perspective.”
Adlington’s improvement in form began to show last year, where she claimed titles at the European Championships, external and the Commonwealth Games, external.
However, it is this year’s performances which have given her the greatest cause for optimism and she says she is now “more motivated that ever” to achieve her potential.
“Obviously last year was great experience and it’s always nice to win medals, but it wasn’t against the whole of the world,” said Adlington.
“The World Championships are the next best thing to an Olympics and it gives me a great idea of where I am compared to the rest of the swimmers right now.”
Should Adlington, as expected, qualify for the 2012 Games then she is almost certain to take time away from swimming following its conclusion.
“After Beijing I wanted to enjoy all of the opportunities that came my way and I tried to balance that with training, but it didn’t work because you can’t do both,” she said.
“So, I will go away, have a little fun, be normal for once and then see if I miss swimming.
“If I don’t feel like I can improve or don’t love the sport any more then I could retire, but at the minute I absolutely love it and I don’t want it to end.”
You will be able to hear more from Rebecca Adlington in September’s edition of British Olympic Dreams.
