Britain’s two-time Olympic champion Helen Glover won gold on her return to international competition at the European Rowing Championships.
The highly-decorated triple world champion claimed victory alongside Polly Swann in the final of the women’s pair on Sunday, holding off a late challenge from their Romanian counterparts at the regatta in Varese, Italy.
Glover only returned to training three months ago as she bids to become the first mother to be named in Britain’s Olympic rowing squad for the rescheduled summer Games in Tokyo.
Before this week’s European Championships, the 34-year-old had not competed at international level since winning her second Olympic gold alongside Heather Stanning in the women’s pair at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
On Friday, Glover and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Swann had booked their place in the final by seeing off Greece’s Christina Bourmpou and Maria Kyridou.
“It's nice to be back and get the first race of the season, and the first race in five years, done and set a marker for ourselves," Glover said after that heat.
"It felt very comfortable on the start line.
"I was expecting to feel a bit more nervy but, thanks to the foundation we've built through our training, I knew enough about myself before we started the race and it felt like a nice place to be.”
