Rebecca Adlington

Introduction

Encephalitis International are enjoying watching our Ambassador Double Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington share her expertise at the Paris 2024 Olympics!

This summer, Rebecca is hosting the Swimming coverage live in Paris and who better for the role?

A personal connection

The swimming sports star, who won two gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and a further two bronze medals at the London Olympics in 2012 has been a steadfast advocate for the organisation, driven by a deeply personal connection to the cause.

In 2005, Rebecca’s sister Laura fought a challenging battle with encephalitis. Although she had made a remarkable recovery, the ordeal left an enduring impact on the Adlington family. Rebecca’s intimate understanding of encephalitis’s far-reaching effects has fuelled her support of our work.

A strong partnership

In her continued role as Ambassador, Rebecca uses her status as a sports icon to advance Encephalitis International’s mission. Her partnership with us, which began in 2008, is a powerful fusion of personal experience and public influence.

Rebecca says: ‘Having seen at first-hand how the illness affected my sister Laura and how little we knew about it at the time, my hope is to work with the team in order to raise awareness of the illness to help sufferers and their families. I’m pleased that my success in the swimming pool will enable me to increase the understanding of the disease and make sure that other families don’t have to go through the experience we had.’

Follow Rebecca on Instagram here @beckadlington (external link).