London 2012 gold medallist
Helen Glover – Sporting Giants
DOB: 17.06.86
Hometown: Penzance
Sport: Rowing (women’s pair, with Heather Stanning)
Former Sport: Athletics, Hockey
Best results: London 2012 Olympic gold medallist, Belgrade World Cup, (gold), 2012 Lucerne World Cup (gold), 2011 World Championships (silver), 2011 Lucerne World Cup (gold), 2011 Munich World Cup (gold)
Helen’s story...
All-rounder Helen grew up in Penzance in a sporty family and from an early age was involved in sport. At the age of 14 she was playing hockey for the England satellite squad, captaining her county team and also playing tennis and swimming for her county. After being selected to run for England, Helen continued her love of sport by commencing a degree in Sport and Exercise science at the University of Wales.
Helen started rowing in 2008 through the UK Talent Team (UK Sport and English Institute of Sport) Sporting Giants scheme and was placed on to the GB Rowing Team's Start programme, sponsored by Siemens, in Bath and coached by GB Rowing’s Paul Stannard. Prior to this she had absolutely no experience with rowing.
Speaking to the Guardian about the Sporting Giants process, Helen said: “They tested 4,500 of us in groups of 200 at a time. I remember sitting in a room in Bisham Abbey and someone saying ‘a gold medallist in 2012 could be sat in this room. Look around you.’ I thought: right, I’m going to make that me. It was quite surreal.”