Olympics news - Helen Glover back in Team GB rowing squad as she aims to make history at Tokyo Games
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Updated 31/03/2021 at 15:32 GMT
Five years after her last competitive race, Helen Glover is set to make her return to action for Team GB at the European Rowing Championships. The 34-year-old, who won gold in 2012 and 2016, is now a mother of three and is aiming to become the first woman in British rowing history to make an Olympic team after having children.
Helen Glover
Image credit: Getty Images
Two-time Olympic champion Helen Glover has been recalled to the British team for the European Rowing Championships and has her sights on making history in Tokyo this summer.
Glover, who won gold with Team GB in 2012 and 2016, retired from the sport four years ago and has since had three children.
The 34-year-old has been back in full-time training since the start of the year and has made the squad for the European Championships in Varese, Italy, where she is set to race in the pair with Olympic silver medalist Polly Swann.
"I’ve been back full-time for three months now and being selected for the Europeans is the first step on my mission to become the first woman in British Rowing history to make an Olympic team after having children," said Glover.
"I’m finding the journey exciting and extremely challenging but I hope I can return from Varese with some success stories to share with the children."
This will be Glover’s first competitive race since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
She had previously said a comeback was "highly unlikely", but that has changed after she spent time on a rowing machine during the national lockdown last year.
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British Rowing's director of performance Brendan Purcell said the 64-strong squad is looking forward to the three-day event, which starts on April 9.
"It has been 20 months since we last competed at an international regatta," he said. "When we came home from the World Rowing Championships in September 2019 with 10 boats qualified for the Olympic Games and three boats qualified for the Paralympic Games, we had no idea of the challenges that would lie ahead.
"I'm incredibly proud of every single member of the GB Rowing Team, from the athletes to the coaching staff. They have worked tirelessly over this period, maintaining fitness levels and working towards a time when we could safely compete again."
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