Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics April, with open water event swimmers selected after performance in the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Championships, in Seville, Spain. In winning six medals (two gold, two silver and two bronze) the team bettered the target of three medals set by UK Sport. The most successful swimmer was Rebecca Adlington who won two gold medals. Her 400 m freestyle success was Britain's first Olympic swimming title since 1988, and the first swimming gold by a British woman since 1960. Her second gold, in the 800 m freestyle, meant she also equalled the best performance by a British woman, from any
Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre freestyle Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre freestyle The women's 400 metre freestyle event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 10–11 August at the Beijing National Aquatics Center in Beijing, China. Rebecca Adlington became Great Britain's first female gold medalist in swimming in 48 years. She posted an outside-record time of 4:03.22 to hold off U.S. swimmer Katie Hoff in the final 50 metres with a 1.46-second deficit. Hoff added a silver to her hardware from the 400 m individual medley just a day earlier, in 4:03.29. Adlington's teammate Joanne Jackson earned a bronze in