Rebecca Adlington faced years of harsh criticism from trolls over her looks and has revealed the deep impact this trolling has had on her mental health. The BBC Sports presenter and Olympic gold medallist has today been met with a wave of support from fans after disclosing that she's been diagnosed with coeliac disease – a condition affecting around one in 100 people in the UK. In a video posted on Coeliac UK's Instagram page, the 36 year old shared that she was "newly diagnosed" and highlighted the significance of gluten-free prescriptions for those managing the condition. Fans of the swimmer quickly filled the comments with messages of support for Rebecca. "So good to have someone famous helping to raise awareness. Well done Becky," one fan penned. "Awesome to have @beckadlington backing the campaign! What a role model! Thank you Becky," another chimed in. Rebecca's latest announcement was received with positivity, quite a contrast to the harsh online bullying she faced in the past. A decade ago she was subject to allegations she'd had cosmetic surgery for a nose job after enduring years of nasty jibes. In 2014, it was reported she'd undergone surgery at a top Harley Street clinic. While the sportswoman has never confirmed whether she got the procedure done, she told the Daily Mail: "If somebody else wants to know [that], well tough luck. It's my life. Loads of women have loads of things that they do – like a Kim Kardashian or whatever – but I just think if you open yourself up in that way, there's a lot more that happens," reports the Mirror. Back in 2012, comedian Frankie Boyle faced fire for a particularly tweet aimed at the Olympic swimmer which read: "I worry that Rebecca -Adlington will have an unfair -advantage in the swimming by -possessing a dolphin's face." His post did not go unchecked as the social media community immediately called for an apology. Frankie removed the message without explanation. In the wake of the controversy, David Walliams stepped up to support Rebecca by saying: "I have met and spoken on the phone to Rebecca. She is a beautiful woman, inside and out. It is disappointing that anyone would want to be mean about her appearance. Rebecca's an absolute inspiration, and a really lovely lady." While appearing on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2013, Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington was candid about her struggles with body image during a heart-to-heart with soap star Lucy Pargeter. Lucy told her about the pressure young girls face to meet beauty standards which made her "ill" in her youth. Rebecca confided: "And it's also making me very, very insecure that I have to look a certain way. For me, I was an athlete, I wasn't trying to be a model, but pretty much every single week on Twitter I get somebody commenting on the way I look." The emotional moment saw her receiving supportive words from her campmates, including EastEnders star Laila Morse who reassured her of her beauty. Post-jungle, talking to the Daily Mail, Rebecca opened up about the constant negative attention she received about her looks, saying candidly "Every day I look in the mirror and go, 'God, I'm not pretty, I've got a very big nose. That's what most of the negative comments on Twitter are about – my nose," and shared the cruel taunts from bullies: "People say, 'Oh God you look like a dolphin,' or 'I didn't realise they let whales into the Olympics, but at least you should be able to swim faster with a nose like that." Several months down the line, in April 2014, Rebecca finally addressed the rumours about her getting a nose job. Speaking her truth she told the Daily Mail, "If somebody else wants to know [that], well tough luck," adding , "It's my life. Loads of women have loads of things that they do – like a Kim Kardashian or whatever – but I just think if you open yourself up in that way, there's a lot more that happens." Opening up about online abuse, she shared how trolling used to make her "burst into tears" but now she understands that those making nasty remarks are actually strangers who've never met her in person. Rebecca admitted, "I'm definitely happier with how I look now," but confessed, "But I wouldn't necessarily say happy. I think you still always see the same thing when you look in the mirror. A lot of people tell me that you get more comfortable with yourself with age and obviously I've still got a lot of growing up to do." In a more recent discussion, Rebecca, who was honoured with an OBE in the 2009 New Year Honours, spoke candidly with Judy Murray in 2021 about her experiences as a female public figure. She reflected on the pressures and said during Sky Sports' docuseries Driving Force: "To be honest I didn't realise [the impact] until I'd fully retired from swimming. You're in such a bubble in sport, when you're in it you just live and breathe performance. I was able to bat things off a lot more because I was performance driven." She added: "I saw a therapist last year and it wasn't until I sat down with somebody external, and talked to them fully, that they said they could help to adjust things. I openly say that therapy is the best decision that I've ever made."