SUPERMUM GLOVER IS DENIED A THIRD GOLD

WOMEN’S FOUR PUSH DUTCH ALL THE WAY BUT ARE FORCED TO SETTLE FOR SILVER

- Matt Majendie

HELEN GLOVER had said she wanted to show what all mothers are capable of. In her case, it was silver, denied gold by less than two-tenths of a second.

Watched from the stands by her three children, she won a third Olympic medal 12 years after the first of two golds but came up just short in her quest to become the first British mother to win rowing gold.

Twice she had retired and twice come back to the sport, hoping to act as inspiration for fellow mums, but also her six-year-old son Logan and her four-year-old twins, Willow and Kit.

She makes no secret of the fact that rowing takes a back seat to her family life with husband Steve Backshall, the adventurer and TV presenter, and it has been an almighty juggling act to get to this point from school drop-offs and after-school clubs to training camps and World Cup competitions.