WARRINGTON’S Lucy Glover finds herself in a difficult situation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympian is in camp with the Team GB rowers preparing to the best of her abilities for the racing to start on Saturday – but is likely not going to get on to the water!
For the former Lymm High School student is the women’s sculling reserve, meaning she is on standby for any of her teammates in the double or quad boats becoming injured or ill.
The situation will be leaving Glover, 25, still desperately eager to compete, but not wanting any of her teammates to fall foul and being forced to withdraw.
As it is, only time will tell if Glover gets a second chance at Olympic Regatta action.
Much has changed for the Warrington Rowing Club and Edinburgh Boat Club competitor since the Covid-delayed Tokyo games of three years ago.
There she was in an established women’s quadruple sculls boat which finished seventh, just missing out on the A final and going on to win the B final.
Glover then won bronze with her crew in the women’s quadruple sculls in the world championships staged at Labe Arena in Račice, Czech Republic, in 2022.
It was gold in Munich, Germany, in the European Championships the same year, while last summer it was bronze in the quad in the Euros in Bled, Slovenia.
It is a boat Glover appeared settled in.
But her 2023 season was impacted by illness and she was shuffled about.
For World Cup II in Varese, Italy, Glover was called on to compete in the women’s double sculls with Saskia Budgett from Tideway Scullers School, finishing 10th overall.
She was then chosen for the women’s single sculls in World Cup III in Lucerne, Switzerland, but a late withdrawal resulted in her switching back to the quad, going on to win the silver as GB topped the medal count and won the series overall.
Glover was back in the single sculls in the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, where she was 22nd and this year’s World Cup II in Lucerne, Switzerland, where she was 14th.
She started the sport, 12 years old, at Warrington Rowing Club and won a silver medal at the World Rowing Junior Championships in the quad (JW4x) in 2016.
Moving up to U23 level, she won gold, bronze and then gold again in the women’s quad from 2017-2019.
She made her senior debut at the European Rowing Championships in 2021, where she won a silver medal in the quad (W4x) which set the scene for Tokyo.
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