UK Sport

We use cookies to track and analyse visitors to our website

These cookies help make the website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation. They are necessary for our website to function and cannot be switched off.
These cookies gather information to understand how visitors interact with the website, such as how many people are using our website of which pages are popular to help us improve user experience. Switching off these cookies will mean that we cannot gather information to improve the user experience.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by a third party provider whose services we have added to our website. Switching off these cookies mean that areas of our website cannot work properly.

Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient.

The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site.

For all other types of cookies we need your permission.

This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages.

You can at any time change or withdraw your consent from the Cookie Declaration on our website.

Learn more about who we are, how you can contact us and how we process personal data in our Privacy Policy.

Skip navigation
the national lottery
Twitter Facebook Youtube Instagram LinkedIn
  • About us
    • Our Directors Team
    • Our Board
    • Panels
    • Strategic Plan 2021-31
    • Our funders
    • Who we work with
    • Accessibility
    • Contact us
    • Media centre
    • FAQs
    • Working at UK Sport
  • Our work
    • Investing in sport
    • Investing in events
    • Talent identification
    • Coaching
    • Powering positive change and social impact
    • International relations
    • Leadership, development & governance
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
    Olympic sports
    • Archery
    • Artistic Swimming
    • Athletics
    • Badminton
    • Basketball
    • Bobsleigh
    • Boxing (Amateur)
    • Canoeing
    • Curling
    • View all
    Paralympic sports
    • Boccia
    • Goalball
    • Para-Archery
    • Para-Athletics
    • Para-Badminton
    • Para-Canoe
    • Para-Cycling
    • Para-Equestrian Dressage
    • Para-Rowing
    • View all
  • Resources
    • A Code for Sports Governance
    • Organisational Health
    • Annual reports
    • Board minutes
    • British Cycling independent review
    • Complaints and whistleblowing
    • Eligibility
    • Fraud, corruption and bribery
    • High Performance System Advisory Group
    • HR policy templates
    • Pregnancy guidance
    • Reports
    • Privacy policies
    • Publication Scheme
    • Recruitment framework
    • The Whyte Review
    • Tenders
    • Transparency and open data
    • Welsh language scheme
  • Jobs in sport
    • Explore career pathways
    • Jobs in sport
    • Submit a job
  • About us
    • Our Directors Team
    • Our Board
    • Panels
    • Strategic Plan 2021-31
    • Our funders
    • Who we work with
    • Accessibility
    • Contact us
    • Media centre
    • FAQs
    • Working at UK Sport
  • Our work
    • Investing in sport
    • Investing in events
    • Talent identification
    • Coaching
    • Powering positive change and social impact
    • International relations
    • Leadership, development & governance
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
    Olympic sports
    • Archery
    • Artistic Swimming
    • Athletics
    • Badminton
    • Basketball
    • Bobsleigh
    • Boxing (Amateur)
    • Canoeing
    • Curling
    • View all
    Paralympic sports
    • Boccia
    • Goalball
    • Para-Archery
    • Para-Athletics
    • Para-Badminton
    • Para-Canoe
    • Para-Cycling
    • Para-Equestrian Dressage
    • Para-Rowing
    • View all
  • Resources
    • A Code for Sports Governance
    • Organisational Health
    • Annual reports
    • Board minutes
    • British Cycling independent review
    • Complaints and whistleblowing
    • Eligibility
    • Fraud, corruption and bribery
    • High Performance System Advisory Group
    • HR policy templates
    • Pregnancy guidance
    • Reports
    • Privacy policies
    • Publication Scheme
    • Recruitment framework
    • The Whyte Review
    • Tenders
    • Transparency and open data
    • Welsh language scheme
  • Jobs in sport
    • Explore career pathways
    • Jobs in sport
    • Submit a job
Popular content on our site
Investing in sport About us Strategic Plan 2021-31 UK Sport launches Environmental Sustainability Strategy to protect ‘Team of Tomorrow’ Jobs in sport
News

Helen Glover's Olympic heroics in Tokyo inspire a new generation of women and mums to take up sport

Published 29 July 2021

Having inspired a new generation of mums and women to take up sport, Helen Glover’s Olympic heroics in Tokyo has helped to kick-start a British Rowing initiative called Go Row Indoors.

 

Glover, who gave birth to twins last year, finished fourth at her third Olympic Games this summer, having previously won gold in London 2012 and 2016 in Rio with Heather Stanning. 

 

The mum-of-three became the first mother to be part of Team GB’s Olympic rowing squad and her efforts in Tokyo have inspired a whole generation of women to believe that anything is possible. 

 

Stanning was in attendance in Bristol to see The National Lottery-funded Go Row campaign in person, visiting new rowers and mums from Bristol Aerial Rowing Club to inspire more women to get involved with the sport. 

 

“What Helen has shown is as a young mum, it's still important to make sure you have some ‘you’ time and rowing is a really great sport for that at club level,” said Stanning, speaking to promote Go Row Indoors, an indoor programme from British Rowing, which aims to get everyone rowing whether it be for fun, fitness, or competition.

 

“It's a really family friendly sport and it's lovely to see so many people down here who have been inspired by Helen's journey. Helen is inspirational for everyone, every generation, easily. 

 

“Within the sport, it’s so important The National Lottery is providing schemes that give clubs the support to do this and it's great to see. I'm loving seeing so many people out here.

 

“All Mums are amazing – but Helen is a huge inspiration for mums all over the country to make time for themselves to get active, whether that’s trying sport for the first time or training every day.”

 

Novice rower Helen Winstanley, 31, from Bristol, started rowing to keep active after having her two children. With the help of British Rowing’s Learn to Row intensive course, she was on the water in no time – and she admitted Glover’s Tokyo heroics and an appearance from Stanning had further fuelled her ambitions.

 

 

The Olympics is a celebration of elite sport participation but also serves as an inspirational moment for the power of sport to deliver impact beyond participation.  

 

She said: “It was a bit scary for me coming back into something after having my kids, so it's really cool to see a mum like Helen [Glover] up there on the international stage and doing amazingly. 

 

“I live in Bristol and my family and I would always walk past and see the rowers from Bristol Ariel Club and I always thought it looked fun. 

 

“I'm so glad I did the Learn to Row course because it's been an absolutely amazing experience. The club supports everyone in their experience.  Now, we have more and more women joining, especially recently from the Learn to Row scheme.  

 

“There were more women than men actually on the scheme of all different ages and having Heather in attendance will further encourage people to get involved.” 

 

Similar can be said of Team GB, which has more female competitors than men for the first time ever at an Olympic Games this summer. 

Director of Rowing Community & Strategy for British Rowing, Helen Rowbotham, is ecstatic to see the changes being made in sport, and as a mum and rower herself, Glover’s influence is all the more inspiring. 

 

She said: “Rowing is a fantastic sport for all women and mums to get involved with, on the waterside and indoor.  

 

“It has something for everybody, which is a message we really want to get across because we're conscious of the traditional stereotypes and we want rid of that. With Helen, having had twins last year, and already having one as well, to achieve what she's achieved is absolutely incredible.  

 

“It’s so inspiring that she's had that dedication and focus and shows what can be done. She is of course also an amazing athlete but we can all take our steps to improve our fitness and mental health.” 

No one does more to support grassroots sport as well as our elite Olympic and Paralympic athletes than National Lottery players, who raise around £36 million each week for good causes. Discover more about how playing The National Lottery supports Team GB’s athletes by visiting www.national-lottery.co.uk/tokyo2020 and get involved by using the hashtags: #TNLAthletes #MakeAmazingHappen 

 

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
News
Greg sliding on the ice with a curling stone in hand
UK Sport announces first cohort for new Coaching in High-Performance Sport development programme
16 May 2023
Stuart Robinson #3 of Team Great Britain competes for the ball with Joshua Wheeler #10 of Team United States during the gold medal wheelchair rugby match on day 5 of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games at Yoyogi National Stadium on August 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Bumper summer of UK Sport major events kicks off in Cardiff
2 May 2023
null
English Institute of Sport celebrates the start of a new era as the UK Sports Institute
25 April 2023
Sport jobs in the UK
Find & advertise UK based sports jobs here
Read more
Our funders
  • Logo of UK Government reading Funded by UK Government
  • TNL partners
Who we work with
  • British Olympic Association
  • Paralympics GB
  • Logo of the UK Sports Institute
  • Sport England
  • Sport Northern Ireland
  • Sport Wales
  • Sport Scotland
  • Logo of the British Elite Athletes Association
  • Logo for UK Coaching
  • Logo of Sport Resolutions
Sitelogo
Sitemap
  • Homepage
  • About us
  • Our work
  • Events
  • News
  • Sports
  • Resources
  • Jobs in sport
  • UK Sport editorial policy
  • Freedom of Information Act 2000
  • Website terms
  • Accessibility
  • Cookies policy
  • FAQs
Contact
UK Sport
6th Floor
10 South Colonnade
London
E14 4PU
E: info@uksport.gov.uk
T: +44 (0) 20 7211 5100
Follow us
Twitter Facebook Youtube Instagram LinkedIn

© Copyright UK Sport 2023