Rebecca Adlington is a swimmer who has competed for Great Britain.
She qualified for the British swimming team at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic Games. She won a total of four medals (two golds in Beijing 2008 and two bronze in London 2012) in the long-distance freestyle double (400 and 800) throughout her Olympic career. She was the country's first Olympic swimming champion since Adrian Moorhouse topped the podium in 1988, the first female since Anita Lonsborough in 1960, and the first British swimmer to claim multiple gold medals since 1908. She also demolished the 19-year-old world record in the 800 metres freestyle (set by Janet Evans in 1989) until Kathleen Ledecky lowered it five years later at the world championships in Barcelona, Spain.
On 5 February 2013, Adlington officially retired from competitive swimming.