Mum’s the word...Laura made the right call
GLOVER: WE SHARE BOND
SUPERMUM Helen Glover paid tribute to Dame Laura Kenny afterTeam GB’s greatest female Olympian hung up her bike, saying: “I see myself in every mum competing.”
Four months before Paris 2024, Kenny retired from cycling after winning five Olympic golds.
Now rowing legend Glover, bidding for her fourth Games, is our standardbearer for the sporting motherhood. She will be 38 by the time Paris comes around, and with three children aged five or under, nobody is better-qualified to separate the pressures of sport from family life.
Glover, who won Team GB’s first gold at London 2012 with Heather Stanning in the women’s coxless pairs, said: “Every time you hear of a mum’s reasons for going to work, or stepping back from it, you have to respect them because there’s no right or wrong answer.
“When Laura made her announcement, I thought of everything she’s done in her career, everything she’s done as a mum, and I knew she was making the right decision for her. The right decision is not always the easy decision.
“In my case, we’ve just gone past the 100-day mark to Paris and I keep telling myself I can do another 100 days of this.
“But that doesn’t mean they will be 100 easy days – I absolutely see myself in Laura, and I see myself in every mum who is out there competing because I know the stresses and the strains that go with it.
“But I also know how far we can push the boundaries to show our kids what is possible.
“We share a common bond and she has been a magnificent ambassador for her sport.”
Glover, left, who defended her coxless pairs title with Stanning in Rio eight years ago, finished fourth with Polly Swann in Tokyo – a remarkable effort when she had been breastfeeding her twins only three months earlier.
She is likely to be part of the women’s four if she makes the cut for Paris, but all the signs are promising. She said: “Physically I’m surprising myself by hitting numbers I’ve never hit before, which is very exciting because I wasn’t necessarily banking on that.”
● Helen Glover was speaking as an ambassador for Aldi, official partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024.