Helen Glover, the inspirational British figure skater who won a silver medal in Pyeongchang after coming back from retirement, has sent an emotional message to her fans.
Helen Glover has sent an inspirational message after finishing fourth in her comeback from a knee injury.
Helen Glover came close to winning a medal on her return to the Olympics (Picture: Getty Images)
Helen Glover and Polly Swann finished fourth in the women’s coxless pairs event in Tokyo, but despite losing out on a medal, she had only positive things to say after retiring from rowing in 2016.
The 35-year-old won gold in this event in 2012 and 2016, and returned to the sport in 2021 after almost five years away, just missing out on another Olympic medal after having three children.
Glover made history as the first mother to compete for Team GB in the Olympics in Tokyo, and she had her children in mind after the race at the Sea Forest Waterway.
She told the, ‘I just want to say, Logan, Kit, and Willow, I love you so much, you’ve been my inspiration.’
‘Until you guys came along, I never imagined myself going back in a rowing boat.’
‘All I want to convey is that you can do anything you want. It’s not a problem to attempt and fail as long as you try. That message goes out to everyone, not just my children.
‘I simply want to thank all of the parents who have supported me along the road for all of your words.’
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There was clearly sadness in the air after missing out on a medal by a whisker, but Glover was quick to focus on the positives after such a lengthy absence from the sport, with Swann also taking a two-year break before 2021.
‘Right now, I’m happy that we put everything on the line because we knew it was going to be a huge final to be in,’ Glover added.
‘Getting here was a difficult path, so I knew that if we crossed the line having spent everything, we’d be happy with the outcome; looking back on how we got here, it reflects a lot of our hard work.’
New Zealand won gold, followed by the Russian Olympic Committee in second and Canada in third.
Glover won the women’s coxless pairs events at both London 2012 and Rio 2016, both times with Heather Stanning.
Glover resigned after his success in Brazil, married TV host Steve Backshall in September of that year, and the pair has three children.
She announced her comeback to training in January of this year, and with her new and current partner Swann, she won gold at the European Rowing Championships in April. At the time, Glover had been out of competition for five years and Swann had been out for two.
In June, Helen Glover and Polly Swann were named the Team GB duo (Picture: Getty Images for British Olympic Association)
In June, only six months after Glover’s comeback after a half-decade hiatus, the duo was named as Team GB’s coxless pairs representatives in Tokyo.
Glover has therefore become the first British mother to compete in the Olympics.
Glover and Swann were the third-fastest pair in the two semi-finals on Wednesday, behind New Zealand and Greece.
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