Great Britain rowing legend Helen Glover reveals 'massive mum guilt' almost saw her give up on her dream of a fourth Olympics

There are days when Helen Glover feels nothing like the 'supermum' she is often described as. Days like the ones last winter, when this remarkable rower almost hung up her oar for good.

Glover will be officially selected by Team GB for her fourth Olympics on Wednesday and it is a fine achievement for any athlete, mother or not. But the path to Paris has been an arduous one for the 37-year-old, who has struggled with mum guilt as she juggled training with caring for her three young children.

'I came extremely close to walking away just a few months ago,' the double Olympic champion reveals to Mail Sport. 'It was a time in the deep winter training where it all just felt impossible.

'It was exhaustion and just this never-ending question of, "Am I doing the right thing?" It is a question every single mum asks themselves every day: "Am I being the best parent I can be?".

'I just thought, "Do they need an exhausted mum? Am I really going to get to the Games? Is this really something I should be doing?". And I promised myself if I ever felt that I was going in the wrong direction that I would have a really serious think about doing this.

'As a parent, I always need to reflect on what is best for my children. So I had a good conversation with the team doctor and the coaches. I made sure I was managing my time in a way that I can absolutely look at myself in the mirror and know that I have done right by my children.

'It was just a bit of a check-in with myself to make sure that was happening. It was important to check that this is the right thing to be doing.'

Glover has been doing this thing for 16 years now, announcing herself at London 2012 when she won Team GB's first gold with Heather Stanning in the coxless pair.

They defended their title at Rio 2016, after which Glover quit to start a family with her TV presenter husband Steve Backshall, giving birth to son Logan in July 2018, then twins Kit and Bo in January 2020.

However, Glover announced a shock return to the sport in January 2021, becoming the first mother to row for Britain at an Olympics when she finished fourth in Tokyo with Polly Swann. She vowed that would be her last race, but then came out of retirement for a second time in March last year, which brings us to Wednesday and her selection in the women's four for Paris 2024.

So, how has Glover managed to balance parenting and rowing this time? 'Just barely scraping by,' is her honest reply.

In practice, she leaves her house in Maidenhead at 6.30am each morning to get to British Rowing's base at Caversham, with Steve — if he is not away with work — taking the children to school and nursery. Glover's 'non-negotiable' is that she finishes training by 3pm to do the pick-up and take the kids to various extra-curricular activities.

'Sometimes that means me doing sessions on my own at home after the kids have gone to bed,' she says. 'But it's the only way of making it work and feeling like I am not dropping the ball as a mum.

'When Steve is away, it feels impossibly hard some days. But for the 10-week run-up to Paris he is at home and there for the kids. I am so lucky to have that — it's necessary at the moment.'

Glover is immensely proud of how she has inspired other mothers to come back into elite sport. In rowing, Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne, who had her son Freddie in the summer of 2022, will also be selected for Paris in the double sculls on Wednesday.

'It's amazing to be inspiring other people to even realise that this is a possibility,' says Glover. 'When I first came back, there was shock and horror that I was even thinking about it, but now it should be, 'OK, how do we make this work for you?'.

'That would be my hope that we are getting towards that. If we want a future where women feel they can come back, everybody has to understand there is a degree of necessary flexibility.

'It's not how I would necessarily choose to do my training as the perfect athlete, but I am trying to balance being the best athlete and the best mum.'

Judging by her performances, she has got the balance just right. Off the water, Glover has been setting personal bests on the rowing machine and in the weights room. On it, having switched from the pair to the four, her boat is unbeaten this year, winning the European Championships and two World Rowing Cup regattas.

'I am only 37 but as a woman in sport, that is seen as the older age bracket,' she says. 'I just think, 'I am not having that, I am going to try and keep improving for as long as I can'.'

Given their season so far, Glover and her crew-mates, Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten, will go to Paris as the favourites for gold. Should they pull it off, would it be Glover's greatest achievement?

'Yeah, definitely,' she says. 'I look back on all of the Olympics and each has something special with it and was so hard fought for. But my darkest, most difficult moments have come in the lead-up to this Olympics, so for that reason, if I do well, I'll have a deep sense of achievement.

'We are never resting on our laurels, but we have clearly had the start that we wanted. We are setting our sights on the podium. Coming away with a medal would be an amazing result.'

Glover would also be the first British mother-of-three to stand on an Olympic podium. If any extra incentive was needed in Paris, her three children will be cheering her on at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

'They haven't come out to any races yet this year, they are saving it all for Paris,' says Glover. 'I am just going to have to forget they are there and just stay present and in the process.

'But a huge part of coming back was to have them there in Paris. This is a moment that will be with them for the rest of their lives, which is really special.'

Victory in front of her family in France would be a fitting way to finish her illustrious career.

However, Glover will not be making any Steve Redgrave-style pledges of retirement on the finish line — especially with beach sprint rowing making its debut at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

'That is a bit more tempting because it is so much shorter!' admits Glover. 'I have no plans to carry on after Paris but I did say that after Rio. I have learned not to commit to anything.'