Becky Adlington On Family Life In Lockdown As Daughter Summer Yearns For Return To The Pool

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Rebecca Adlington with Harry Needs and their daughter Summer celebrating a 5th birthday - Photo Courtesy: Harry Needs, Instagram

Double Olympic champion Becky Adlington has enjoyed extended quality time with her daughter Summer during lockdown in the UK – although the five-year-old is hankering after a return to the pool.

Adlington, who finished her career with four medals from four Olympic finals, welcomed Summer in June 2015 with ex-partner Harry Needs.

Although the pair split in 2016, they remain on excellent terms and Adlington has revealed how they have dealt with lockdown life with Summer who recently enjoyed a unicorn-themed fifth birthday party.

She told Hello magazine:

“She goes to Harry’s for three days, she comes to mine for three days. We have co-parented really well and found our routine. She gets the best of both worlds!”

The UK went into lockdown in March in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

While the measures have affected many adversely, it has also allowed people to spend precious time with their families, including Adlington who lives with partner Andrew Parsons.

“Normally we’re such in a rush, we pick her up from school, take her to tennis or swimming, for the first time she’s spent real quality time with us.

“We’re not going anywhere, we just sit and chat and laugh or just dance, snuggle.

“We used to do bits of that at the weekend, but this is quality time.”

However, it appears that Summer is taking after her mother – who won 400 and 800 free gold at Beijing 2008 – and yearning for a return to the water.

Adlington said:

“She didn’t mention swimming for ages, like two months. Then out of nowhere she said, ‘I really miss going swimming and I really miss [her teacher] Gemma’.

“I tried to explain to her that swimming pools aren’t open because of the virus, but she was like, ‘Mummy, can we go on holiday because I can swim in the pool there!’

“Bless her!”

“Summer misses tennis too, we’ve been able to play bits in the park – but with swimming the paddling pool just isn’t the same!”

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