Ex-Olympic Champion Adlington Won’t Swim at Rio, Mail Reports

Former double Olympic swimming champion Rebecca Adlington won’t compete at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, the Mail on Sunday reported, citing an interview with the 23 year-old.

She said she may compete in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 and will focus on helping the next generation of British swimmers.

Adlington won golds in the 400 meters and 800 meters freestyle at Beijing in 2008, and took bronze in those events at this year’s London games.

“Rio is out of reach. I’ll be 27 by then, and swimming, especially for distance swimmers, is a young person’s game,” Adlington told the Mail on Sunday. “If I was a sprinter then I would go to Rio. But I don’t have an ounce of sprinting in me, and that’s why my Olympics are over.”

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at at celser@bloomberg.net