Helen Glover named in Team GB squad for European Rowing Championships

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Glover named in Team GB squad for European Rowing Championships

The 34-year-old is aiming to compete at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 games this summer.

Double Olympic champion Helen Glover has been named in the Great Britain squad for the forthcoming European Rowing Championships.

The regatta in Varese, Italy, which begins on April 9, will be the first time the 34-year-old has raced since winning the second of her Olympic gold medals in 2016.

She will race in the Women’s Pair with Olympic silver medallist Polly Swann.

I’ve been selected for the European Championships 😊 in the pair with the amazing @PollySwann. Really excited to get racing next week after 5 years on the side-lines. A good step towards Tokyo but lots of hard work left to do 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/z1FJ2L1sYs

— Helen Glover (@Helenglovergb) March 31, 2021

Glover, who also won coxless pairs gold at London 2012, decided to make a comeback after using her rowing machine to get fit during lockdown following the birth of her twins.

Now a mother of three, Glover is setting her sights on becoming the first woman to make a British Olympic rowing team after having children.

“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,” Glover told www.britishrowing.org.

“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.”

Helen Glover file photo — Great Britain’s Helen Glover (right) and Heather Stanning celebrate winning Olympic gold (Mike Egerton/PA)

British Rowing director of performance Brendan Purcell said: “It has been 20 months since we last competed at an international regatta and the whole squad cannot wait to get racing again.

“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.”