Olympic hero backs Mirror's 'Save Lives for Sam' campaign and reveals she fought 'terrifying' waves to survive

Olympic legend Rebecca Adlington is one of the best swimmers the world has ever seen - but even this elite sportswoman has come close to drowning. The mum-of-three has been speaking to the Mirror in support of our ‘Save Lives for Sam’ water safety campaign, and revealed the wave drama that left her "absolutely terrified" of the sea. At the height of her success in 2010, two years after winning two gold medals at Beijing 2008 Games, it all could have ended in disaster in Australia, if she had not been so well-trained. Becky, now 37, who competed in four Olympic finals and won two gold medals in Beijing and two bronze in London, told us in an exclusive interview: “It was after Beijing and I was 21. I remember going to Australia and getting in the sea at Bondi Beach and I was so terrified when I got caught up in the waves. “I felt like I was choking, I knew I could get out of it, I felt in control but it absolutely terrified me". She said she now avoids going in the see if she can. "Pretty much since then I haven't gone back in. I don't go in the sea any more because I found it so scary. “It's that rip thing, it was just every time a wave crashed it took me under. Every time I came up another one would hit. I really struggled and I came out of there and was like ‘wow!’ “At the time I was at the height of my career, the height of my swimming training, doing 75,000 metres in the pool every week but every time I came up I just got sucked back down. Even the strongest of swimmers, anything can happen. “It was only one really bad minute… luckily I felt in control and then I managed to come up and get a bigger breath and then swim forward. It took my real strength to get out past the waves. I'm an Olympic swimmer, and I struggled!” The mum, who gave birth to her third child three months ago, said of the experience: “It really scared me, absolutely terrified me, I was absolutely exhausted after that. In that instant, I thought, nobody stands a chance unless you are a confident swimmer.” The nation took Becky to its heart when she stormed to two golds at the Beijing 2008 Games, winning the 400m and 800m freestyle, after breaking an Olympic record. Her victory in the 400m was the first swimming gold won by a British woman in almost 50 years, after Anita Lonsborough in 1960. But despite her incredible talent, even Becky ended up ‘panicking’ as the waves gripped her: “I was so panicked, and it's the panic where you get in trouble… your body tenses, you then can take on water and choke.” She said it’s times like this when drowning ‘can so easily happen'. The incident was so frightening it left its mark on Becky, who said: "It's really terrifying that even the strongest of swimmers, anything can happen. I avoid it now. “ Becky was speaking to us at her Leeds branch of her company Swim! which she started with fellow Olympian Steve Parry MBE. They had already opened 13 centres before spending £2million more this year opening centres in Leeds and one in Droylsden. They are opening up a further three this year giving 10,000 more children from babies to 11 years olds access to lessons, despite 500 pools having shut down in five years. Becky explains Steve too had a close call when he fell off a boat when he was younger. “That was the whole reason why he ended up learning to swim. I mean, he then went on to win an Olympic bronze medal,” she smiles. Her own children have had lessons at Swim!. Summer, 11, Albie, 5, and Thea, three months old. “The absolute sweet spot to learn to swim is between 3 and 5, that is like the fundamental age where they understand body position in the water so you can educate them and it is before they develop their fear too much,” she explains. She said her eldest Summer was three weeks old when we first took her to the swimming pool and her youngest went in the water at four weeks. She makes sure to avoid them wearing blue swimming costumes, as it is safer to buy ones that are much more visible in the water, such as orange. “My little boy is five, he's whizzed through the different stages just in those two years because he's not got that fear and he has been able to progress so quickly, which is amazing to see.” But she admits her eldest Summer will not be following in her footsteps any time soon and says ‘No, mummy, I don’t want to be like you’. She just likes the social element of swimming, not the competition.” The retired swimmer and presenter told how she gets better feedback from the parents at Swim!. “We had one customer say that their child fell out of a boat on holiday and they were confident enough to swim back to the boat. She said without those lessons, I don't know what could have happened. “We've had a little boy that came to one of our lessons who was really, really traumatised by water. He wouldn't even get in the bath at home.” Swim! She said “changed his life”. “This is why we do what we do. I love my Olympic medals, don't get me wrong, but this is way more rewarding,” she admits. “This is way better, the fact that people are learning such a vital life skill.” She believes swimming should be as important as reading and writing but opened her businesses as 500 swimming pools closed in five years. “We need over a hundred of these across the UK but we're slowly getting there. Look, swimming isn't one of the biggest sports in this country. You see football splashed all over the papers. Swimming might get this little tiny little mention. Yet, she said: “Drownings are so regular. They happen all the time, especially in the summer months. And yet nothing is ever done about it, nothing changes.” Talking about our Save Lives for Sam campaign she said: “I am joining the Mirror's campaign Save Lives for Sam. It is so important that we urge the government to do more because too many people are losing their lives when drowning, especially around open water. “Actually the campaign that you guys have set up absolutely highlights what needs to be done. It's like why is there so much open water in this country without safety equipment there? “I've been and there's been a tiny little sign there that says do not swim and I could barely read it let alone a child who is this big who just sees water and goes ‘oh this nice’ and wants to run in. “We need to do more as a country here. We live on a tiny island. We're surrounded by water. It's really basic stuff that needs to be done. “We're not asking for millions and millions of pounds to do something that is just so far-fetched. Let's get some safety equipment out there. Let's get the right signage there. Let's really prioritize learning basic skills in schools, things like that. They're not hard.” Talking of the devastating week, which saw 19 people die in water-related incidents, she said: ”It upsets me every time. I have anger, because a lot of them can be prevented. “ Bereaved families, The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), RoSPA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, The National Water Safety Forum, the RNLI and Swim England, Lee Pitcher MP, the Black Swimming Association (BSA), Olympic legend Tom Dean, elite swimmer Michael Gunning and Becky have all joined forces with the Mirror. Ashley Jones, RLSS UK Head of Water Safety and Education said: “Even strong swimmers can get into trouble in the water. Knowing how to swim is a great life skill - but it is not enough to stay safe. Having water safety knowledge is essential, including being able to float if conditions change until help arrives.” “It is critical to learn the Water Safety Code, from always staying together and stopping to think about risks before getting into open water, to understanding what do if someone is in trouble.”