Rebecca Adlington: I never realised how much pain I was in before coeliac diagnosis

Rebecca Adlington established herself as one of Britain’s greatest-ever athletes – then she lost her energy. 

In 2008, a teenage Adlington became the first British swimmer to win two gold medals at the same Olympics for 100 years. 

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She broke an 800m freestyle world record that had stood since the year she was born.  

This is not a woman who lacks motivation. Yet little more than a decade later, in her early thirties, Adlington could barely find the spirit to exercise. 

Yes, she was older. Yes, she was now a working mother of two. But despite being given medical advice to the contrary, she knew this was not normal. And she was right.  

Adlington has coeliac disease – a chronic autoimmune condition where consuming gluten damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents the body from properly absorbing nutrients. She was only recently diagnosed in 2024 at the age of 35.  

In a matter of months, her entire sense of wellness – and what that truly means – was transformed. 

The Olympic legend sat down with Gluten-Free Itinerary, in partnership with talkSPORT, to candidly offer new details on her journey in the hope that it could raise awareness for others. 

“I noticed my symptoms more since I had my little boy,” she said. “He’s four, and ever since I had him, that’s when I would say I’ve absolutely noticed symptoms like just feeling awful, constant mouth ulcers, constantly exhausted. 

“Every time I went to the doctors, they were like, ‘Oh, it’s just your hormones’, or they would say, ‘Oh, you’ve had gastroenteritis’.

“And I’m like, ‘I’ve had gastroenteritis before, I know what that is. That’s not what I feel like this time’. So it just kept getting pushed aside. And I just put things down to, well, I’ve got two kids, I’m working full time. 

“So it was actually like a really big relief in some ways when I got diagnosed because I was like, ‘Oh thank God, people, I’m not making it up’. There is a reason why I feel this bad. 

“And it was crazy. Once you stop, then you realise actually how bad you felt. I look back now going, ‘Why did I put up with feeling that way? Why didn’t I put my foot down a little bit more and say something?’ But yeah, hindsight’s a wonderful thing.” 

Adlington is not alone in her experience. Far from it. Coeliacs will no doubt be nodding along in relatability. Perhaps, not just those who have been diagnosed already. 

According to Coeliac UK, one in a hundred people have Coeliac disease – but it is estimated roughly half a million people in the UK have it without knowing. 

Only around 36 per cent of people with the condition are clinically diagnosed, meaning seven in ten Coeliacs go through the same struggle and confusion as Adlington on a daily basis. 

Adlington added: “I used to have a good night’s sleep and wake up exhausted. And you just lack motivation to be in the gym or even just doing exercise.

“When I was doing exercise, I was like, ‘Why am I just so tired all the time? Why was I not able to just feel better?’ 

Coeliac disease: the statistics

1 in 100 people in the UK are estimated to have coeliac disease.

Around 500,000 people in the UK are living with undiagnosed coeliac disease.

Only about 36% of people who have the condition are currently clinically diagnosed. Experts sometimes refer to the large number of undetected cases as the ‘Coeliac Iceberg‘ to illustrate this underdiagnosis problem.

If a first-degree relative (parent, child, or sibling) has the condition, the chance of a person developing it increases significantly to 1 in 10.

It affects more women than men, at a ratio of approximately 2:1.

“Normally people come out and they feel really energised from exercising. I just felt exhausted every day and really struggled with that bit of motivation because I just was too tired. 

“And you think, ‘Oh, people probably think I’m being lazy and I’m not’. But then I noticed such a difference.”

A year into her journey, Adlington is still navigating her new dietary world without gluten – which can be treacherous. As it happens, it’s in a lot of things. 

One particular run-in with a hot chocolate had the iconic swimmer almost calling for an ambulance (more on that over at Gluten-Free Itinerary). 

But the constant pain, so constant she considered it to be normal, has gone. Daily life became significantly easier within months of avoiding gluten.

What’s more, Adlington is currently six-months pregnant with her third child, following a difficult period in which her and husband Andy Parsons experienced two miscarriages. 

Adlington said: “The pain was the first thing that eased straight away. Again, hindsight’s a wonderful thing. I just didn’t really realise the stomach pain I was having every day, because it was just my normal day. 

“I just didn’t realise until I stopped gluten and pretty much within a few weeks, my stomach pain, I was like, ‘Oh my, I don’t feel anything today’. 

“So the pain was definitely the first thing I noticed. And then after a couple of months, I just noticed the energy. My skin felt better. I wasn’t full of mouth ulcers. 

“It was so nice to eat a meal and not feel bloated. I would say within three months, everything had significantly changed within that period.”

She continued: “Before I got pregnant, I got into this really nice routine of doing three or four workouts, going for a run… and loved feeling like I had motivation and energy again to do stuff again, because it had been so long.

“And look, in that period I’d had miscarriages, there was all sorts of stuff going on, it wasn’t just Coeliac disease. 

Coeliac disease: the diagnosis gap

The average length of time taken for an adult to be diagnosed with the disease from the onset of symptoms is a staggering 13 years.

1 in 4 people with coeliac disease were previously misdiagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) before receiving the correct diagnosis.

The incidence (rate of new diagnoses) of coeliac disease in the UK has almost doubled over the 20-year period from 2000 to 2020. This is likely due to increased awareness and better diagnostic techniques.

Coeliac disease is increasingly being diagnosed in adulthood (often between 40 and 60 years old), a shift from when it was primarily considered a childhood condition.

“But it was just nice to feel like I’ve got energy again, and feel like I can wake up, and I don’t feel exhausted. 

“So it was just so nice to feel better. I was so shocked within a couple of months, how much better I felt just from cutting gluten out. It massively impacted me.”

For more stories, helpful tips and advice – including the rest of our interview with Adlington – follow Gluten-Free Itinerary.