'People write about you as a different breed - it's another level as a mum'

Double Olympic champion Helen Glover says she is super-chilled’ despite balancing rowing with parenting as she eyes another medalin Paris this summer

- Andy Bull

It's 1pm on a Wednesday afternoon, and Helen Glover has just wrapped up training for the day. This is the one half-day in her working week, which runs from half-six on Monday morning till half-two on Saturday afternoon, but she still needs to pick up the kids at three, just as she does every school day, so these next couple of hours are the only ones she has to herself, or to do much of anything else. In the circumstances, I feel a little guilty about using them for this interview when she would, presumably, rather be having a quiet cup of tea or catching up on her sleep. Glover, 37, tells me she's used to it.

It has been a year since Glover announced she was coming out of retirement, again, to compete at the Paris Olympics this summer. It's all a little different this time. In 2012, 2016 and 2020 she was competing in the women's pair, but in 2024 she will be the senior member of the women's four. She says it has been refreshing working with a new crew and a new coach. They're coming along well, and won silver at the European championships last May, and bronze at the world championships in September, although Glover admits they will need to "step-up again" if they're going to win a medal at the Olympics this summer.

She has given a fair few of these Wednesday afternoon interviews in these last few months. This one is on behalf of Aldi, which is an official partner of Team GB & ParalympicsGB. Just reading the clippings is exhausting. Glover is out the house at 6.30am, does two hours and 15 minutes training on the water, runs through video analysis, does another hour on the water or on the bike, then drives straight to the gym and does another hour of weight training, then does the school run and takes the three kids off "to swimming or tennis or gymnastics or the library or the park or play date" before they all eat dinner together.