Broke a 48-year Olympic gold-medal drought for British women's swimmers by rallying past Katie Hoff to win the 400m freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Games
Added the 800m freestyle gold in equally-dramatic fashion, breaking the 19-year-old record of Janet Evans by more than two seconds
Named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth at the age of 20
Also received the Laureus Sports Award for 2008 Breakthrough of the Year
Swept the 400m-800m freestyle races at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, adding a silver and gold at the 2011 World Championships
Saw the pool in which she learned to swim at age 4 (Sherwood Baths) renamed The Rebecca Adlington Swimming Centre in 2010
Also, a pub in town was temporarily renamed Adlington Arms in her honor
Likes to paint her nails in Britain's red, white and blue for major international competitions