Helen Glover: People ask about the post-Olympic blues but getting married put a stop to that

Magic memories: Helen Glover marries Steve Backshall after winning gold

Standard Sport catches up with Rio 2016 columnist Helen Glover, who won gold in the women’s pair with Heather Stanning.

What’s been the best bit about life after Rio? Definitely getting married — it was just such a special day. A lot of people talk about having a post-Olympic dip but I’ve just not had that because of getting married.

And you’re branching into being behind the camera with your husband… I flew with Steve [Backshall] to film for BBC Worldwide in Japan. It’s the first time I’ve done TV outside of sport and I loved it, from the geothermal pools to macaque monkeys.

How are you spending Christmas? We’ve had the Backshall family Christmas and we’re heading to Cornwall to see my family now. I’ve got two brothers and two sisters and it’s the one time we get a chance to get together. It’s quite a mad house.

In Pictures: Team GB's medal run at Rio 2016 Olympics

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There’s been a few awards as well since Rio. Was the gold not enough? The gold was definitely enough but to get such accolades adds a warm glow. Each awards we go to, we send a picture to our coach, Robin, who’s on a round-the-world sailing trip.

So what does 2017 have in store? I’ve committed to running the London Marathon but I fell two months ago and my knee swelled up. It’s died down but my marathon’s on a knife-edge. I’m joining Steve on a speaking tour in Australia in the new year.

And what about your rowing future? It’s hard. When you’re at these events you think, ‘how can I walk away from this all?’ but it’s a double-edged sword when you think how much you’ve achieved already. We’ll see…

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