Olympic gold medal winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington had to cancel her plans for a water birth and get out of the pool, but said her baby daughter’s arrival is still her “greatest achievement”.

The 26-year-old from Mansfield, who won two gold medals at the 2008 Olympics, had to change her plans because of complications just before the birth on June 8.

Rebecca Adlington in Hello Magazine
(Hello! Magazine/PA)

She told Hello! Magazine: “It was the most painful thing I have ever done but also the most rewarding. Winning medals doesn’t really make a difference to real life but bringing a new child into the world is without a doubt our greatest achievement.”

The athlete and her husband, Harry Needs, have named their daughter Summer – partly in tribute to the time of year when she became an Olympic hero.

Harry said: “When we realised Becky had won her medals in summer, that we got married in summer, and that our baby was born in summer, it made perfect sense to name her after our favourite time of year.”

Handout issued by Hello! magazine of the front cover of the latest edition to go with PA story SHOWBIZ Caprice
Rebecca’s interview features in this week’s Hello! magazine (Hello! Magazine/PA)

Adlington said she hoped her daughter would follow in her footsteps and take up sport.

She said: “I really would love her to get into the world of sport, but I’m not bothered if it’s not swimming. I just feel sport gives you so much more in life.

“My sport taught me everything that I am today, be dedicated and driven, committed, and you get to travel the world and meet amazing people.”

Read the full interview in Hello! Magazine, out now.