OUR INSPIRATION - THE MOTHER OF ALL COMEBACKS

HELEN GLOVER MAY NOT HAVE ACHIEVED MEDAL VICTORY IN THIS YEAR’S OLYMPICS BUT HER STORY IS STILL ONE OF SUCCESS HERE SHE TALKS ABOUT GOING FOR SPORTING GLORY AS A MUM OF THREE

- KIRSTY NUTKINS

Helen Glover had big dreams when she headed to the Olympic Games in July. After winning gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016, she was aiming for the top spot for a third time in Tokyo. Sadly, she didn’t have the fairy-tale finish she’d hoped for when she and her rowing partner, Polly Swann, came fourth in the women’s pair event.

Nonetheless, what Helen achieved at the Games was a remarkable feat. As mum to three kids under the age of five – Logan, three, and twins, Kit and Willow, who were born last January – Helen, 35, had been retired for four years when she decided to compete. Not only that, she was the first mother-to-be selected for the British rowing team. She described the decision to head to Tokyo as “a lockdown project gone too far”, but says she’s incredibly proud of herself. Somehow, she managed to squeeze an Olympics training regime into just a year and admits that it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of her husband of five years, TV adventurer Steve Backshall.

Here, we catch up with the rowing legend about motherhood, her career highlights and her next major challenges…

Well done on your achievements in the past year, Helen! Are you enjoying some time off now?