Too much too soon!

Rebecca Adlington is a double Olympic Champinon, a world record holder, and last month she received an OBE, and she is not even 21!

This week it is the World Swimming Championships in Rome and she came 4th in the 800m freestyle - her event. Almost a year has past since she became a household name, and is the pressure too much?! Is this media pressure, sport pressure or self induced pressure? Without a crystal ball and getting into Rebecca's head, I guess we will never really know.

For one so young you can certainly appreciate that she must have had to get used to the media spotlight, but how long does that take to get used to, and do you ever get used to it? In a tiny write up in the London Metro she stated "I just need to get away and get back to swimming, and just not do anything else". So what she is saying is that she has lost her focus, and as a result her results in the pool are suffering.

Tom Daly is now a world champion, so it will be interesting to see how he copes, however, I suspect it will be slightly differently as he seems to have always had the spotlight on him! Johnny Wilkson, our much heralded England rugby player said that he always tried to limit the number of things he did outside his sport. Again, was this more maturity, or just Johnny being Johnny? Whatever it was it certainly ensured that he was focused on his game.

Whatever Rebecca decides to do to ensure she gets back on track and doesn't lose her winning habit is up to her. People are different in how they react to pressure, outside challenges and good old stress. Elite athletes are no different, they just need to find out what is not working and fix it - simple! Look at Usain Bolt, he seems to thrive on all the attention, but when it comes to performing on the track, he just gets on and does his thing. If you dig a little deeper you can see how he has managed this and how he has developed mechanisms to cope with the pressure, something extremely valuable and essential for every successful athlete.

I hope that Rebecca's disappointing performance in Rome (her words not mine!) is but a blip on her sporting career. It is how we recover from these blips that make us stronger and show that we are human. You just need to look at David Beckham, Roger Federer, Lewis Hamilton, and of course Dame Kelly Holmes, another double Olympic champion, to show you that you can refocus and achieve even greater success once you regain focus and do what you do best!

The transition from ordinary Rebecca Adlington to Rebecca Adlington swimming sensation seems to be one which has not necessarily been smooth sailing. However, this is often the case with many a successful athlete and Rebecca's future success in her sport is likely to depend on how she rides this current wave of change.