Helen Glover, Team GB rower in profile: What you need to know about the Rio 2016 medal hopeful

Oarsome: Helen Glover and Heather Stanning are defending their title from 2012
Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images
Standard Sport5 August 2016

Standard Sport columnist Helen Glover on her hopes for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Name: Helen Glover

Discipline: Women's coxless pair

DOB: June 17, 1986

What are your ambitions for Rio?

The defence of the Olympic title that Heather [Stanning] and I won in London four years ago. In the build-up, though, you try not to think about that aspect too much, instead focusing on everything you need to get right for once we’re on the start line and make sure we’re the best versions of ourselves that we can be.

What is your minimum target?

If there was to be no gold it would be disappointing but until you get out there and see what your rivals are like it’s hard to pre-judge. If a crew does something they’ve never done before, it’s hard to say how I might feel.

Who is your biggest rival?

The threat comes from the United States and New Zealand — they’re the main two rivals. With the US, the rules of their trials is that they race in pairs and the winners can choose what boat they race in. This year, the winners opted for the pair so they’re obviously confident as the eight was an option and they’re Olympic champions in that. And with New Zealand, there’s been a big internal battle to get picked in the pair.

How has the final build-up gone?

We’ve been fit and healthy which is the most important thing and our last two training camps have gone really well.

What are your expectations for the rest of the rowing team?

When to watch

Rowing

(Women’s pair final)

2.24pm, Aug 12 (BBC1)

We’ve had a very strong group over the past few years and the women’s team in particular is getting stronger and stronger. There’s lots of potential there.

How does it compare to the build-up in 2012?

Leading up to London 2012, it was very different as we had a lot of crews to test ourselves against in training: Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins in the double and Kat Copeland and Sophie Hosking in the lightweight double, plus Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase in the men’s lightweight double. So with them we were able to gauge where we stood a bit better. It’s not quite like that this time. But the pressure is definitely different. In terms of the media interest, it’s been quite quiet comparatively but I quite like it that way. As for the pressure, it’s much the same except this time we’re defending champions.

What’s your first Olympic memory?

I remember watching Denise Lewis winning heptathlon gold in 2000 but it probably wasn’t until Kelly Holmes four years later that I realised perhaps how impressive an achievement it was. I remember thinking at the time it would be amazing to go to an Olympics but I never thought it would be possible.

Rio 2016 Olympic Games Venues - In pictures

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Have you given much thought to the Zika issue or the Russian doping controversy?

You read the stories and, as crews, you inevitably talk about it. But the key is that it doesn’t have that much relevance to us so we have to keep focused on what we’re doing.

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