Golden girl goes for glory once more

START to believe it - the double is on for the new golden girl of British sport.

Rebecca Adlington booked her place in tomorrow's 800m freestyle final with the third fastest swim of all time yesterday - adding the eight-year old Olympic record to her ever-growing resume.

Her time of 8.18.06 minutes took more than a second off her British best and will make her a short-priced favourite to add another gold to her 400m freestyle title.

"I can't believe it to be honest, I didn't expect to go that fast in the heats," admitted Adlington.

"But I'm really pleased, my aim was to improve on what I did at trials and I did that."

Adlington admits she is already feeling the effects of her new-found fame.

In the heady days since her win on Monday, she's tried to stay cool and focus on last night's heats, which always represented her main target for Beijing, having swum the quickest time in the world this year at the British Championships in Sheffield.

 

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"I've tried to get away from it and do some training in a quiet pool and stay focused on this event, rather than thinking about the gold," she said.

"I've had plenty of rest and massages and tried to get the effort from earlier this week out of the system.

"I'm feeling in great shape and I think this time shows that. It really hurt but I knew I'd have to swim fast to be in the mix."

The failure of Britain's 4x200m freestyle relay team to qualify for yesterday's final could be a blessing to the 18-year old - who can afford to be selfish as she bids to become the first-ever British swimmer to win two Olympic golds since Henry Taylor exactly 100 years ago.

"The girls tried their hardest, you can't ask anymore," was Adlington's diplomatic response to the selection howler that was still the talk of the pool deck yesterday.

Meanwhile, Mark Foster refused to bring the curtain down on his career despite failing to advance beyond the 50m freestyle heats yesterday.

But the six-time world champion acknowledges that Adlington is the future now.

"If Rebecca wins another gold they should make her a Dame - just like they did with Kelly Holmes after Athens," he said.

"The atmosphere in this team is the most amazing I've experienced in five Olympic Games. The commitment and attitude of Rebecca and all the team cannot be faulted.

"If you look at the progress we've made, it's a huge change."

Forget a big night out this Saturday and enjoy an even bigger day in - with a bounty of British genuine gold medal chances in sailing, cycling, rowing, swimming and athletics the only thing you should raise a glass to.

Adlington will be up first in the small hours - set your alarm clocks, it might just be a day to remember.

JAMES TONEY in Beijing