Adlington quickly received support from many of her Great Britain team-mates.
Former world 100m freestyle silver medallist Fran Halsall tweeted: "what a small insignificant life that person must lead", echoed by former double Commonwealth champion Caitlin McClatchey, who wrote: "his parents must be so proud to have raised such a pathetic idiot! Well done for ur amazing 800 hun BOOM! Good luck today xx"
Olympic open water bronze medallist Cassie Patten addressed the perpetrator directly, saying: "It must be hard for you, you obviously have achieved nothing in your life, as you feel the need to Insult @BeckAdlington."
It all follows the revelation by Adlington to a number of reporters that she has been subject to abuse on Twitter as well as negative comments online.
She had said: "I love the block button on Twitter.
"I don't know how people expect to send a nasty comment and not get blocked.
"With Twitter I think it's one of those things if you like it like Liam (Tancock) who is on it every two minutes - 'just having my lunch, just doing this' - he loves it, he is like that in real life.
"Whereas I am on Twitter every now and again, I tweet here and there but not every day all the time.
"I think I will be going on every now and again but I won't be checking it.
"I want to stay focused - obviously the messages of support are absolutely amazing and I love reading all of those but you have got the chance of somebody saying something just to annoy you and you don't want that added stress.
"For myself, I think I'll Tweet once it's over."
She added: "I used to (read articles) when it first happened but I am one of those people I then scroll down to the bottom and read the comments and I learned very quickly not to do that. Because it is awful and I get angry: even if there are 10 nice comments you always get one idiot.
"It makes you angry and frustrated. I've now given up because it upsets me or makes me angry."
Diamond jubilee rain fails to dampen Thames flotilla fervour - The Guardian
The poor souls who braved central London's grey, sodden dawn to get the best vantage point for Sunday's 1,000-boat flotilla to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee found the banks of the Thames already lined with revellers.
Scores who had camped overnight were inadequately protected by tents, umbrellas, cagoules, and bin bags. The most organised brought camping stoves and sausages, bacon, and eggs for a jubilee fry-up.
There were reports of many people dressed in red, white and blue left standing on station platforms across the Midlands, unable to get onto jammed trains to London. In the city centre the train and tube platforms nearest the river were packed as soon as public transport began.
The Thames barrier was lifted at 9am to reduce the flow of the incoming tide, as the crews – from historic motor launches to small rowing boats – struggled to organise into an orderly procession. As the flotilla set off downstream, the tide had turned and the challenge for engines or tiring arms was to keep to an absolutely steady four knots an hour – essential to allow so many boats get through the narrow arches of the bridges without causing massive traffic jams.
The flotilla of 1,000 ships recreates the spectacle of royal pageants of old, inspired by a Canaletto painting now on display at the Maritime museum in Greenwich. More than 20,000 people will be on the boats, watched by at least 1 million people lining the river's banks and bridges as central London comes to a virtual standstill.
Up to 50 large screens have been placed along the river for people to view the spectacle, which sets off from Putney at 2.30pm and finishes at Tower Bridge at 5.30pm when the last of the vessels arrive.
The flotilla, the largest such pageant for 350 years, will range from rowing boats to military boats, including the Spirit of Chartwell, which was transformed over six months from a river cruiser into a royal barge fit to carry the Queen and her family – complete with gold leaf, ornamented carving and more than 1,000 plants and cut flower arrangements.
The leader of the flotilla is Gloriana, a spectacular new, but historic-looking, rowed barge built on the Thames as a jubilee gift for the Queen.
Other vessels will include a contingent of Dunkirk "little ships" and tall ships such as the Southampton-based Tenacious, which will be sailed by a mixed crew of able-bodied and disabled people.
More than 20 vessels from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) are being drafted in for the occasion to help with safety on the river. Another vessel will take on a ceremonial role during the pageant in celebration of the 60,000 lives saved by the RNLI during the Queen's reign.
The £2.7m boat, renamed diamond jubilee in honour of the Queen, patron of the RNLI, will join the flotilla. Allen Head of the RNLI said: "We have got 24 lifeboats on the river and they will be looking after the vessels that are part of the event but also the general public that will be enjoying the spectacle."
Despite the gloomy truth of the forecasts of chilly rain, Battersea and Hyde parks were also filling early for day-long family festivals, while thousands of street parties also take place around the country. Some were hastily reorganised into village halls, as the jubilee coincides with the Big Lunch, a charity initiative designed to get communities to spend time together.
The planned giant beach party on Anglesey, near the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was one of those transferred indoors.
More than 9,500 applications for road closures have been approved across the UK, almost twice as many as for last year's royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The beginning of the jubilee weekend was marked on Saturday by the Queen's traditional visit to the Epsom Derby to watch the thoroughbreds race. The Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins had the honour of performing the national anthem in front of 130,000 patriotic racegoers after the monarch had driven on to the course in a Bentley customised with a Royal Standard on the roof.
Buckingham Palace becomes the centre of attention on Monday with the BBC jubilee concert getting under way at 7.30pm, when conditions could be drier and brighter.
More than 10,000 ticket holders will see artists including Robbie Williams, Dame Shirley Bassey, Stevie Wonder, JLS, Jessie J and Elton John perform. One of the highlights will be the group Madness, performing their hit Our House on the roof of the palace. A visual tribute will also see diamond jubilee beacons light up the night sky across the UK on Monday, with more than 4,000 expected to be lit here and in the Commonwealth.
Festivities climax on Tuesday with a religious service, a procession through the streets of London and the royal family's appearance on the palace balcony to acknowledge the tens of thousands expected to fill the Mall.
By the end of the weekend, an estimated 2 million people are expected to have left the country, with many republicans perhaps among them.
The anti-monarchy group Republic has promised the "biggest anti-monarchy protest in living memory" at the Thames pageant. A jubilee pub night organised by the group takes place later on Sunday evening.
The British Monarchist Society was entrenched in force near Tower Bridge by early morning, predicting that the republican protest would be a washout — but highly indignant that their large laminated God Save The Queen banners had been banned as too large and likely to prove a hazard in the crowds.
Crowds Build For Thames Jubilee River Pageant - Sky.com
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1:46pm UK, Sunday June 03, 2012
Crowds are building along the Thames as a thousand boats prepare to take to the river for what will be the major public event of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
Up to a million people are expected to watch from the river banks and public spaces in London as a flotilla stretching for miles travels towards Tower Bridge.
At the centre of the flotilla will be the royal barge, the Spirit of Chartwell.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are expected to arrive at Chelsea Pier at 2.10pm ahead of boarding their vessel, which is due to join the flotilla at 3pm.
Jubilee bells will ring out to mark the start of the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant, which features historic vessels, steam boats, barges and tugs.
The royal couple will be joined on their barge by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, who earlier attended a special Jubilee lunch on London's Piccadilly Circus, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Grenville Houser is the pageant's beach master at Putney, the start-point, and has the job of making sure everything happens on time.
He told Sky's Emma Birchley: "It's going really, really well. All the crews are here.
"They're terribly excited and we are on schedule, in fact a little ahead of schedule.
"The wind is also dropping which is the most important thing for the rowing boats. It's looking good."
For those lucky enough to bag a place in the pageant it has been months of hard graft to get their boats ready.
David Sowter, who will be steering his narrow boat Orlando up the river beside 999 others, said: "We've gone from excitement to exhaustion to excitement again.
"We've had to repaint, get the engine checked, we've lost sleep getting down here. But it's something different. It is never going to happen again."
His wife Rosie talked with excitement about "making history".
She said: "This is a once in a lifetime. The last time this sort of event happened was 350 years ago.
"It's so lovely to see all the Union Jacks out and see all the people. I come from a generation where we liked street parties and royal celebrations. It's so exciting to see that again."
The Sowters will be just two of 20,000 people aboard the 1,000 vessels.
And in the countdown to the moment, the Thames gave a taste of what is to come.
Vessels from all over the nation converged on the capital and made their way along the river to take up their positions for the start of the pageant.
Family boats, barges, motor boats, vast sailing ships will join some of the iconic craft of British history in a flotilla which will travel 25 miles along the Thames.
The boats will pass under all 13 central London river crossings from Battersea Bridge and Tower Bridge in what could turn out to be the largest live public event ever held in London.
Boats gather at Hammersmith Bridge ahead of the river pageant
It is not only a logistical but a huge security challenge. Safety on the water and in the crowds is paramount and will involve a massive police effort.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanagh, from the Metropolitan Police, said: "This is a pretty unique event for us.
"Bigger than Notting Hill, bigger than the Royal Wedding. Six thousand officers along the line of the Thames working with thousands of stewards.
"Eighteen months of work with the pageant organisers, Transport for London, Port of London Authority, it's been pulling together a unique set of challenges with that number of craft on the Thames."
But if preparation is the key then what is set to be biggest public event of the Diamond Jubilee should go swimmingly.
At least that is what those who have put in blood, sweat and tears over the last year are hoping.
They know the pressure is on. It will not be just the Queen casting a critical eye but, via the airwaves, a global audience of billions.
Meanwhile, millions more people were due to attend street parties up and down the country as part of 'the big Jubilee lunch'.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla were the first royal guests to venture out into the rain on Sunday as they arrived at a special picnic stretching along London's Piccadilly.
Charles, wearing his trademark double breasted suit, and Camilla, dressed in a raincoat, stopped to chat to revellers in the street.
The royal couple later took their seats at a table where the table cloth, plates and even a cake were decorated with the red, white and blue union flag.
:: Read more the Diamond Jubilee:
:: Jubilee Celebrations: Full Schedule Of Events
:: In Detail: Diamond Jubilee River Pageant
:: Prince Charles In Tribute To 'Devoted Mama'
:: Picture Perfect: Photos Of The Queen's Reign
Jubilee spirits not dampened by rain: River pageant Queen fans shrug off wet weather ahead of 1,000 boat flotilla - Daily Mirror
Diamond Jubilee river pageant spectators have shrugged off the cold, damp and wet conditions that have shrouded London.
The gloomy weather is in contrast to the recent heatwave but the river banks in central London are already filling up with crowds.
Organisers remain upbeat despite rain and drizzle being forecast for most of the day, with Pageant Master Adrian Evans declaring preparations were in hand.
Mr Evans said: "There is some rain around, but it has not dampened any spirits.
"We in Britain are experts at not letting the weather spoil our fun. The London Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing Singing In The Rain as they travel down the river, and the crowd can sing along with them.
"We are all set to have one of the most spectacular pieces of river theatre that London, and the world, has ever seen. Excitement is building, and everything is ready."
The water-borne extravaganza will be one of the highlights of the four-day Diamond Jubilee weekend with organisers hoping to recreate scenes not seen since the reign of Charles II.
With the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh onboard the lavishly decorated royal barge will be the Prince of Wales, the pageant's patron, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Every conceivable vessel will be afloat on the Thames from kayaks, skiffs, Dunkirk little ships and dragon boats to tugs, barges, rowed shallops and passenger vessels.
At its head will be a floating belfry with each bell named after a senior member of the Royal Family.
People have been gathering along the seven-mile course of the river pageant since first thing, with a few hardy souls sleeping overnight to get a good spot.
Many of those were wrapped up against the cold weather but looking forward to the spectacle.
Karen Chen, 32 and David Ip, 31, from Streatham, south London, said the rain had not put them off coming to the river early to get a prime spot.
"We got here just after 7.30, it would have been earlier if we thought we would have more competition.
"The rain actually works to our advantage," Ms Chen said.
The pair have bagged a prime spot on a bench next to Battersea Bridge and said they were ready for the long-haul.
"We are wrapped up warmly and have waterproof sheets to shelter under. We have got a picnic of marmalade and cheese and pickle sandwiches and Mr Kipling cakes," Mr Ip added.
"Today is a spectacular event, nothing would have stopped us from coming to see the boats. We are so excited about all the variety. It will only happen once in our lifetime and we will be here until the very end," Ms Chen said.
Matt Dobson, senior meteorologist at MeteoGroup, said: "For the all important Jubilee Thames Pageant today, the skies will be mostly cloudy with occasional rain and drizzle. However, don't be surprised if the clouds do thin and break from time to time and a few welcome rays of sunshine may even break through.
"A chilly day in London with temperatures of 12C or 13C, potentially rising to 14C or 15C if it brightens up."
Dafydd Richards, 35, and Felicity Anderson, 30, from New Zealand, arrived at Tower Bridge almost six hours before the boats were due to pass by and said they were used to braving the elements.
Felicity, who now lives in Wimbledon, south-west London, said: "We wanted to make sure we had a good spot because it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"We've brought a very British picnic with scones and shortbread and we'll toast the Queen when she sails past with some Champagne."
Meanwhile, mother and daughter Christine Steele, 57, and Jemma, 29, said the prospect of bad weather had not stopped them travelling from Maidstone in Kent.
Huddled under blankets and umbrellas on a bench near Battersea Bridge, Mrs Steele said: "It's England, we are used to this. It would have been wonderful if it had been sunny like last Sunday but we have come prepared.
"We have got blankets, brollies, flags and bunting. We even got our glittery Union Jack hats and wigs and the Champagne is on ice.
"You name it, we've got it in our picnic.
Mrs Steele's husband Graham, also 57, said he had sent a friend off to try to buy a gazebo for them to shelter under.
"If we get one we will make a lot of new friends, especially ones in uniform," he said.
Mrs Steele added: "This is a once in a lifetime experience and it is good for the country to celebrate together, we would not have missed it."
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