In at the deep end: Adrian Moorhouse puts a dampener on Rebecca Adlington’s bid for Olympic double

 
p.68 edition 12/7/2-12 - LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 08: Rebecca Adlington of Nova Centurion SC competes in the Women's Freestyle 800m Heat 4 during day six of the British Gas Swimming Championships at The London Aquatics Centre on March 8, 2012 in London, England.

Former Olympic champion Adrian Moorhouse has played down expectations over Rebecca Adlington’s double Olympic title defence.

Adlington (above) won a gold in the 800metres and 400m freestyle at the last Games in Beijing and is ranked No1 and No2 in each event respectively this season.

But Moorhouse backed Italian Federica Pellegrini to upstage Adlington in the 400m and warned that the Briton had her work cut out in the 800m against Dane Lotte Friis. Moorhouse, Britain’s last Olympic swimming champion prior to Adlington, said: “Lotte Friis has got more than a chance of beating Becky over the 800m.

“Even though Becky won the 800m world title in Shanghai last July, beating Lotte in the process, Lotte had already swum the 1500m.

“As for the 400m, I’d say Pellegrini is the favourite. She got her pacing all wrong at the last Olympics but returned to her best last year.”

Despite dampening expectations over one of Team GB’s best bets for gold, Moorhouse said he fully expected Adlington to win top honours in her preferred event, the 800m. “I’d ink Becky in for that gold medal,” he said.

“She has been very impressive this season and it looks like there’s more to come from her. She also doesn’t seem daunted by the pressure of a home Games.”

Adrian Moorhouse: Faster, Higher, Stronger — Stories of the Olympic Games continues tonight at 7pm on BBC2.

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