The Herald

Star-studded wedding invitation and the freedom of Moray

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fixed and colours ablaze. As a major in the army who spent time prior to her Rio build-up at Camp Bastion, Afghanista­n, Stanning is in the rare position where she could actually take them up on the offer.

“I would have to encourage some other soldiers to come with me,” she jokes. “But it is a huge honour and I was really touched by that. My parents don’t get to see me very often, and I was only back for 24 hours, but it is always nice to be back – however briefly.”

Perhaps the only buzz kill in a month which has passed by in a blur is the fact that the other half of this formidable two-woman crew was one of the victims of the Fancy Bears’ data hack, which showed that Glover was granted a TUE (therapeuti­c use exemption) for salbutamol to treat her asthma for a four-year period between November 2009 and 2013. This is, of course, no indication of any wrongdoing whatsoever and Stanning, speaking at the official homecoming event in Edinburgh for the Scots who returned home with a combined 30 medals from the Olympics and Paralympic­s, said nothing would detract from what this incredible pair of athletes achieved out in Brazil.

The proud owners of a 39-race unbeaten run which stretches five years, Stanning and Glover have pledged to take some time out to consider before committing to a return to the water in a bid to complete the hat-trick in Tokyo in 2020.

“From an athletes’ point of view, the biggest concern is that informatio­n that we were told was confidenti­al ... is no longer confidenti­al,” said Stanning. “There is nothing to hide but if you are Joe Public do you want the whole world knowing your medical records? Do you want the whole world knowing your whereabout­s? Where you sleep at night? What you do day to day? As an athlete we don’t want that either. I think that is concerning, that stuff we thought was confidenti­al, isn’t.

“I can’t speak for Helen at all, I don’t know what her thoughts are, but from a personal point of view... I don’t think it takes away from what we have achieved. We know we have worked hard to achieve that - and worked hard the right way.”

So imperious have Stanning and Glover been as a pairing that you might think their partnershi­p still has a distance to travel, but both have pledged to get on with their other lives for a bit first. In Stanning’s case, that means staff school in the army next September (although her rank would remain unchanged at first) and attempting to inspire “the huge talent pool” of aspiring athletes in the forces. She feels from experience that time out of the boat early in the Olympic cycle only whets her appetite to get back in and compete again.

“We haven’t quite decided yet what happens next,” said Stanning. “But I think we proved that it can work if we have a year out and then come back, so I think we’ll do that. We are not in a hurry to make a decision about Tokyo, but I think that when we finally do we will make the right one. Having time out reaffirms what motivates you as an individual, what drives you.

“It refreshes you a little bit because four years is a long time and it does take over your life,” she added. “I look back at my peers from university, even the ones I joined the army with, and see what they have done over the last four years and how much their lives have changed. I think gosh I am still doing the same things I was doing when I was 25.”

With Glover’s wedding ceremony in Cornwall serving as a dual celebratio­n, and it always helps when your partner picks up the tab. She repaid her in kind by doing a reading on the day.

 ??  ?? GOLDEN WEDDING: Stanning.
GOLDEN WEDDING: Stanning.

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