GLOVER Helen

Great Britain

Rowing

Date of Birth: 17 Jun 1986

Age: 35

Gender: Female

Height (m/ft): 1.77/5'9''

Place of birth: TRURO

Birth Country:

Great Britain

Place of residence : READING

Residence Country:

Great Britain

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Rowing	Women's Pair GBR Great Britain	4

Schedule

Change

Location	Event	Status
Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Pair Heat 2 #32	Finished
Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Pair Semifinal A/B 1 #89	Finished
Sea Forest Waterway	Women's Pair Final A #114	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Olympic Games

Year	Location	2-
2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	1
2012	London, GBR	1

World Championships

Year	Location	2-
2015	Aiguebelette-le-Lac, FRA	1
2014	Amsterdam, NED	1
2013	Chungju, KOR	1
2011	Bled, SLO	2
2010	Hamilton, NZL	2

European Championships

Year	Location	2-
2021	Varese, ITA	1

Legend
DNF - Did Not Finish, DNS - Did Not Start, EXC - Excluded

Hobbies:

Spending time with her family, the outdoors. (Instagram profile, 06 Jul 2021)

Occupation:

Athlete

Education:

Exercise Science, Sports Science - Cardiff Metropolitan University [UWIC], Great Britain

Family:

Husband Steve Backshall, son Logan [2018], twins Willow and Kit [2020]

Languages spoken:

English

Coach:

James Harris [national], GBR

Sporting relatives:

Her father Jimmy played rugby union at club level in England. Her husband Steve Backshall is a naturalist and television presenter who has featured on various programmes in Great Britain. (bbc.co.uk, 28 Jan 2021; ONS, 12 Aug 2016; theguardian.com, 01 Aug 2012)

Other sports:

She competed in cross-country running at junior international level, and has been a member of the England satellite hockey squad. (britishrowing.org, 18 Apr 2014)

Debut:

2010 for Great Britain, World Cup in Bled, Slovenia (worldrowing.com, Sep 2013; bbc.co.uk, 20 May 2010)

Injuries:

She missed the 2010 World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, because of illness. (telegraph.co.uk, 24 Feb 2012)

National team:

2010 (bbc.co.uk, 20 May 2010)

Start:

She took up rowing in 2008 in Bath, England. (sportstylist.com, 03 Jun 2015; britishrowing.org, 18 Apr 2014)

Reason:

"I had finished university and was fast-tracked into rowing from a talent identification scheme called 'Sporting Giants' [which was looking for tall people with sporting potential], after I had been a successful runner and hockey player as a youngster." (sportstylist.com, 03 Jun 2015)

Ambition:

To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (bbc.co.uk, 28 Jan 2021)

Memorable:

Earning selection for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (centralfifetimes.com, 09 Jun 2021)

Hero:

Her father, and Ethiopian distance runner Haile Gebrselassie.(telegraph.co.uk, 11 Jun 2013)

Award:

She and partner Heather Stanning were named 2015 World Female Crew of the Year by the World Rowing Federation [FISA]. (britishrowing.org, 20 Nov 2015)

She received the 2014 British Olympic Association [BOA] Trophy, for being rowing's female athlete of the year. (gloucestercitizen.co.uk, 21 Nov 2014)

She was named Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE] in the 2013 New Year's Honours List for services to rowing. (bbc.com, 29 Dec 2012)

Following her gold medal in women's coxless pairs at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, she was featured on a stamp with partner Heather Stanning, had a postbox painted gold in her honour in Penzance, England, and had a flower [fuchsia] named after her. (Twitter profile, 15 Aug 2013; birminghammail.co.uk, 02 Aug 2012)

General Interest

General
COMEBACK
She stepped away from rowing following the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro to get married and start a family. In January 2021, she decided to return to rowing after four years away from elite-level sport, with the aim of reaching the 2020 Games in Tokyo. "When I first thought of the comeback I thought it was a nice dream to have, but it didn't feel like it was going to happen. In terms of training, this path is a bit untrodden. I am having to learn the hard way. The lack of sleep is a big thing. I have to deal with a low iron level, I'm still breastfeeding the twins [in January 2021] and that takes it out of you. I'm doing shorter sessions and making them really hard. Maybe when I was younger I could get away with more. Now every tiny thing makes a real difference." She says her comeback was inspired by her children, especially daughter Willow. "If I get there and I race, I want to get the best result I can. But success does look different. I want to physically show my little girl that you can be and do what you want to. That really inspires me, probably even more than I was for London and Rio." (centralfifetimes.com, 09 Jun 2021; bbc.co.uk, 28 Jan 2021; britishrowing.org, 01 Feb 2021)

Milestones

She and crewmate Heather Stanning became the first female British rowers to win an Olympic gold medal when they triumphed in women's coxless pair at the 2012 Games in London. (SportsDeskOnline, 07 Jul 2021; worldrowing.com, 01 Sep 2013)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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