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
Rebecca Adlington Swimming Baths in Adlington's hometown of Mansfield, where she began swimming as a child was renamed the "Rebecca Adlington Swimming Centre" when it reopened after refurbishment in January 2010. The Yates Bar in Mansfield was renamed the "Adlington Arms" in her honour, although it soon reverted to its original name. In November 2008, Adlington was named as the Sports Journalists' Association's Sportswoman of the Year, receiving her trophy at a ceremony in the City of London from HRH The Princess Royal, herself a former winner of that award. On 14 December 2008, she was voted third in the BBC Sports