Rebecca Adlington
6/17/20261 hr 1 min
In this episode of Unfiltered Waters, Katie Hoff sits down with Rebecca Adlington, one of Great Britain’s most accomplished swimmers. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, former world record holder, broadcaster, entrepreneur, and mother of three, Becky reflects on the journey that took her from Olympic glory in Beijing to building a life and legacy beyond the pool.
The conversation explores Becky’s unique relationship with swimming and competition. While many athletes thrive on race day, Becky reveals that she never loved competing and instead found her joy in the daily process of training. She opens up about the anxiety she felt leading into major competitions, the disappointment she carried after London 2012 despite winning two Olympic bronze medals, and how she learned to separate her identity from results.
Katie and Becky also dive into motherhood, pregnancy loss, IVF journeys, and the realities of balancing family with a meaningful career. Becky shares her experience navigating multiple miscarriages, the anxiety that followed during pregnancy, and the lessons she has learned about resilience, trust, and giving herself grace through life’s most challenging moments.
Today, Becky’s passion is transforming swimming at the grassroots level through her growing network of swim schools across the United Kingdom. She discusses her mission to improve water safety, expand access to swimming lessons, and create opportunities for future generations to develop confidence in the water. For Becky, the impact of swimming extends far beyond medals and records. It is about changing lives.
From Olympic memories and career transitions to motherhood, purpose, and the power of trusting your path, this is an honest and inspiring conversation with one of swimming’s most beloved champions.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsKatie Hoff· Host0:00
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another week and another episode of Unfiltered Waters. And this week we travel across the pond to London, where I am sharing one of my two interviews that I got to do when I was over there with Speedo for an incredible speaking panel with two of these other legendary athletes. And without further ado, let's get right into it. I have my conversation today with double Olympic gold medalist, two-time Olympian, former world record holder, Becky Adlington. And Becky is [laughs] not only a gold medalist and former world record holder, but now an incredible mom. She is an entrepreneur. She runs her own swim schools. She's a broadcaster. She has truly done the most in, I'd say, the most balanced, best way post-retiring, and I think it's really cool to hear just how healthy her story is. And obviously she's had trials and tribulations, but to sit across from a former competitor, obviously she and I went head-to-head in the 400 freestyle in Beijing, and she got the edge. But to hear just our difference in mentality and just the way that she approaches racing, and she actually prefers practicing verse racing, you know? And it, it's, I think, a great lesson for all