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Helen Glover
Helen Rachel Mary Backshall (née Glover; born 17 June 1986) is a British professional rower and a member of the Great Britain Rowing Team. Ranked the number 1 female rower in the world in 2015–16, she is a two-time Olympic champion, triple World champion, quintuple World Cup champion and quintuple European champion. She and her partner Heather Stanning were the World, Olympic, World Cup and European record holders, plus the Olympic, World and European champions in the women's coxless pairs. She has also been a British champion in both women's fours and quadruple sculls.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, in partnership with Heather Stanning, she set the Olympic record and won the gold medal in the women's coxless pairs, the inaugural gold medal won by Team GB in 2012 and the first Olympic gold medal for British women's rowing. In December 2012, she won the BBC Olympic Superstars game show. At the 2013 World Rowing Championships in South Korea, she became the world champion with her partner Polly Swann, with whom she also won the 2014 European Rowing Championships at Belgrade and thus became the first woman to hold the Olympic, World and European titles for the coxless pair. She retained her world title and set the world record time in partnership with Heather Stanning at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam. They retained their world title at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Lac d'Aiguebelette, France. In 2016, they retained their European title at Brandenburg an der Havel, set the World Rowing Cup record time at Poznań and again won gold at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She retired after the Olympics to begin a family.
In 2021, it was announced that she had restarted training, and on 11 April she regained the European Coxless Pair title in Varese with Polly Swann. She and Swann finished fourth in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the first mother to row for Britain. Glover said "Everyone will remember the year of the pandemic for their own reasons, but for me I'm going to think 'that was the year that took me to another Olympics' And that's bonkers."
Glover was born in Treliske Hospital, Truro to Rachel (née Tucker), a physiotherapist who trained at Guy's Hospital, and Jimmy Glover, a school teacher and Oxford University graduate. She grew up in Penzance in a competitive athletic family with older brother Benjamin, younger twin brother Nathan, and younger sisters, Ruth and Freya.
Her father is a retired school teacher (English) turned ice cream vendor. Jelbert's Ices of Newlyn was started by Glover's great-grandfather. Her father was an all-round sportsman who played tennis at Junior Wimbledon, played football for Penzance 'Magpies' FC and captained the Penzance Pirates rugby team. He captained the University of Oxford in both the 1960 Varsity Match and against South Africa; he made 199 appearances for Bristol; played for 'Devon & Cornwall' against the 'All Blacks'; played for the Barbarians; and captained Cornwall in the County Championship whilst winning 41 caps.
Educated at Heamoor Community Primary School and Humphry Davy School in Penzance, Glover won a sports scholarship to Millfield School in Somerset between 2002 and 2004 due to her running and hockey prowess. She participated in a variety of sports: as a junior she ran cross-country and middle-distance track both for Cornwall and internationally for England, winning a junior international gold medal for England in cross-country running; she played tennis for Cornwall; she swam for Cornwall; she captained the Cornish hockey team; and by the age of 14 was part of the England Satellite Squad for hockey. Her best UK athletic rankings were 23rd for 800 metres, 9th for 1500 metres and 18th for 3000 metres.
Her former PE teacher, Kate Finch, said: "She always had this phenomenal all-round talent, totally committed and totally reliable. You knew if you had Helen in any team you were safe. She took part in everything. She excelled in hockey and cross country. Helen was so hard working and so coachable. If you asked her to do something, she would do it."
Glover said, "When I was at school I was quite strong-minded, I started up sports teams, I played in the boys' football team. I wouldn't let anyone tell me I couldn't do anything".
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Helen Glover
Helen Rachel Mary Backshall (née Glover; born 17 June 1986) is a British professional rower and a member of the Great Britain Rowing Team. Ranked the number 1 female rower in the world in 2015–16, she is a two-time Olympic champion, triple World champion, quintuple World Cup champion and quintuple European champion. She and her partner Heather Stanning were the World, Olympic, World Cup and European record holders, plus the Olympic, World and European champions in the women's coxless pairs. She has also been a British champion in both women's fours and quadruple sculls.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics, in partnership with Heather Stanning, she set the Olympic record and won the gold medal in the women's coxless pairs, the inaugural gold medal won by Team GB in 2012 and the first Olympic gold medal for British women's rowing. In December 2012, she won the BBC Olympic Superstars game show. At the 2013 World Rowing Championships in South Korea, she became the world champion with her partner Polly Swann, with whom she also won the 2014 European Rowing Championships at Belgrade and thus became the first woman to hold the Olympic, World and European titles for the coxless pair. She retained her world title and set the world record time in partnership with Heather Stanning at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam. They retained their world title at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Lac d'Aiguebelette, France. In 2016, they retained their European title at Brandenburg an der Havel, set the World Rowing Cup record time at Poznań and again won gold at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She retired after the Olympics to begin a family.
In 2021, it was announced that she had restarted training, and on 11 April she regained the European Coxless Pair title in Varese with Polly Swann. She and Swann finished fourth in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the first mother to row for Britain. Glover said "Everyone will remember the year of the pandemic for their own reasons, but for me I'm going to think 'that was the year that took me to another Olympics' And that's bonkers."
Glover was born in Treliske Hospital, Truro to Rachel (née Tucker), a physiotherapist who trained at Guy's Hospital, and Jimmy Glover, a school teacher and Oxford University graduate. She grew up in Penzance in a competitive athletic family with older brother Benjamin, younger twin brother Nathan, and younger sisters, Ruth and Freya.
Her father is a retired school teacher (English) turned ice cream vendor. Jelbert's Ices of Newlyn was started by Glover's great-grandfather. Her father was an all-round sportsman who played tennis at Junior Wimbledon, played football for Penzance 'Magpies' FC and captained the Penzance Pirates rugby team. He captained the University of Oxford in both the 1960 Varsity Match and against South Africa; he made 199 appearances for Bristol; played for 'Devon & Cornwall' against the 'All Blacks'; played for the Barbarians; and captained Cornwall in the County Championship whilst winning 41 caps.
Educated at Heamoor Community Primary School and Humphry Davy School in Penzance, Glover won a sports scholarship to Millfield School in Somerset between 2002 and 2004 due to her running and hockey prowess. She participated in a variety of sports: as a junior she ran cross-country and middle-distance track both for Cornwall and internationally for England, winning a junior international gold medal for England in cross-country running; she played tennis for Cornwall; she swam for Cornwall; she captained the Cornish hockey team; and by the age of 14 was part of the England Satellite Squad for hockey. Her best UK athletic rankings were 23rd for 800 metres, 9th for 1500 metres and 18th for 3000 metres.
Her former PE teacher, Kate Finch, said: "She always had this phenomenal all-round talent, totally committed and totally reliable. You knew if you had Helen in any team you were safe. She took part in everything. She excelled in hockey and cross country. Helen was so hard working and so coachable. If you asked her to do something, she would do it."
Glover said, "When I was at school I was quite strong-minded, I started up sports teams, I played in the boys' football team. I wouldn't let anyone tell me I couldn't do anything".
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