Rebecca Adlington Quits Twitter After Bullying

By Emma Koonse, Christian Post Reporter Friday, June 01, 2012

British Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington has sworn off Twitter after unkind messages were posted on the social media site.

"I won't be checking it [Twitter] or going on it a lot during the Games," said the 23-year-old during a recent interview with the U.K.'s The Telegraph.

Already a gold medalist, Adlington is gearing up for the Olympic Summer games, which begin in London next month.

"The messages of support are amazing but you do have the chance of someone saying something that is going to be annoying," Adlington explained. "You don't want that added stress."

The freestyle swimmer won two gold medals during the 2008 Olypmic Games at just 19 years old. She was the first British swimmer to win more than one gold medal at a single Olympic Games since Henry Taylor won three in 1908.

Despite her achievements, some of her 50,000 Twitter followers have criticized Adlington based on her appearance.

"Even is there are 10 nice comments, you get one idiot," said Adlington. "Most things that I read about myself are not swimming related. They are to do with how I look, which has nothing to do with my performance in the pool."

"I've now given up," the swimmer added.

Twitter bullying is nothing new. Many celebrities such as Lady Gaga have spoken out about cruelty on the social media sites in the past. Gaga, who has the most amount of followers of anyone on Twitter, is an adamant anti-bullying advocate.

"I think I will Tweet once it is over," Adlington concluded.

London's Summer Games begin July 27 to August 12 this year. They will take place at the new Olympic Park as well as many venues that have been in place before the games were announced.