Helen Glover MBE has revealed how becoming a mother has boosted her career, despite experiencing “massive mum guilt”.
The 37-year-old Team GB rowing legend from Berkshire said motherhood has put her career into perspective and freed her from the pressures to succeed.
Helen, who became the first mother to row for Team GB in 2021, was officially selected to compete in the Olympic Pairs earlier this month – an incredible feat for any athlete, mother or not.
Despite previously admitting to feeling “guilty” about juggling a busy career and parenting, she believes her children have given her an “extra edge” when competing, not to mention fueling her motivation levels.
Team GB rower Helen Glover (pictured) told BBC Woman’s Hour how motherhood has given her an “extra edge”
The athlete told BBC Woman’s Hour: “It’s also the factor that takes the pressure off me. It’s knowing that I can cross the line and my children might not even know, or care, where I’ve landed.”
“They just want to give me a hug and I think that’s really liberating.”
Speaking to presenter Anita Rani, Helen explained: ‘Physically, I think I’m better than I’ve ever been.
‘I will soon be 38 years old, I have three children, I am not in the optimal state of life balance that one might imagine an athlete to have, but I am achieving better personal results and I am better than ever.
‘I truly believe that there is something that changes within you. I think that I am relieved of pressure, because I can come home to my children and forget that I am a rower. The balance in life is different, but it is definitely working for me.
She continued: ‘Basically, I haven’t really changed, I’m just as competitive, but I almost feel like I have an extra edge.’
“I’m going to go out there and try to make myself proud, but at the end of the day, it puts everything in perspective, and for me it’s not all about sport.”
He added: “Looking at my teammates, I think probably most of them won’t choose to come back after having families, but every single one of them should have the choice, and I think the choice is the most liberating thing.”
The pressure of training three times a day, twice with team-mates, has meant Helen has had to alternate time with her sons, Logan, five, and twins Kit and Bo, four.
But while she longs to be the best teammate for her crew, she also wants to be the best mother she can be.
The mother-of-three previously admitted she has struggled with mum guilt as she juggles training and caring for her sons, Logan (pictured left) and twins Kit (pictured left) and Bo (pictured right).
In 2021, Helen became the first mother to row for Team GB after giving birth to son Logan in 2018 and twins Kit and Bo in 2020.
During the Olympics, Helen’s husband, TV personality Steve Backshall, is “in charge” of their children (seen in 2017)
However, Helen is able to better balance childcare and her career thanks to her husband, explorer and television personality Steve Backshall.
Helen added: ‘We’ve come to a flexible arrangement in the afternoon so I always do the school pick-up.’
“We always try to make sure one of us is at home, our children are the most important thing and work comes second,” Helen said.
He added: “From now until the Olympics, Steve will be home and in charge. He’s made this work and he’s put things aside to make it happen.”
Despite successfully managing motherhood alongside her exciting career, Helen admitted it hasn’t always been a bed of roses.
Glover is a two-time Olympic champion, having won gold in London and Rio de Janeiro (Helen is pictured with Heather Stanning).
She said: ‘I think as an athlete you get pigeonholed into being a superhero and a very different person to other people, and I’ve never really felt that way since I started my Olympic journey.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Helen recently revealed she has experienced “enormous parental guilt”.
“I was very close to retiring just a few months ago,” the double Olympic champion told Mail Sport. “It was a moment in the middle of winter training when everything seemed impossible.
“I felt exhausted and had a question that never seemed to be answered: ‘Am I doing the right thing?’ It’s a question every mother asks herself every day: ‘Am I being the best mother I can be?'”
“I thought, ‘Do they need an exhausted mother? Am I actually going to be able to go to the Games? Is this something I should really be doing? ‘ And I promised myself that if I ever felt like I was going in the wrong direction, I would seriously think about doing it.
The accomplished rower was on the verge of hanging up her oar for good last year, but is now gearing up for Paris.
‘As a father, I always have to think about what’s best for my kids. So I had a good conversation with the team doctor and the coaches. I made sure I managed my time in a way that allowed me to look in the mirror and know that I did the right thing for my kids.
“It was just kind of a check-in with myself to make sure everything was happening. It was important to check that it was the right thing to do.”
Glover has been doing this for 16 years, and announced himself at London 2012 when he won Team GB’s first gold with Heather Stanning in the coxless pair.
They defended their title at Rio 2016, after which Glover stepped down to start a family with her husband, television presenter Steve Backshall, giving birth to son Logan in July 2018, and then twins Kit and Bo in January 2020.
However, Glover announced a surprise return to the sport in January 2021, becoming the first mother to row for Great Britain at an Olympic Games when she finished fourth in Tokyo with Polly Swann.
She promised that would be her last race, but then came out of retirement for a second time in March last year.
So how has Glover managed to balance parenting and fighting this time around? “Barely surviving,” is his honest answer.
In practice, she leaves her home in Maidenhead at 6.30 each morning to arrive at British Rowing’s base in Caversham, while Steve (if he’s not working) takes the children to school and nursery.
Glover’s “non-negotiable” is finishing training at 3 p.m. so he can pick up and take the kids to various extracurricular activities.
“Sometimes that means I have to do sessions alone at home after the kids have gone to sleep,” she said. “But it’s the only way to make it work and to feel like I’m not neglecting my role as a mother.”
“When Steve is away, there are days that are very hard for me, but during the ten weeks before Paris, he is at home with the children. I am very lucky to have that, it is necessary at the moment.”
