Helen Glover powers through rowing heats with third Olympic gold in reach

Helen Glover’s return to Olympic waters brought smooth progress to the women’s four final and suggested the third gold medal of a stellar career lies well within her reach.

British crews won three of their five heats on a warm, bright day at Vaires-Sur-Marne that stood in happy contrast to Saturday’s persistent rain. The prospect of a successful summer looks real, Emily Craig and Imogen Grant looking peerless in the women’s lightweight double sculls while Ollie Wynne-Griffith and Tom George stated a compelling case in the men’s pair.

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“To be in this position with three people I could not ask any more of, I’m the lucky one,” Glover said of a boat that will start Thursday’s final as favourites. The 38-year-old, who has three children, rows alongside Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten. At halfway they appeared to be in a three-way race with New Zealand and China but they pulled ahead, Shorten setting a formidable pace in the stroke seat, and beat the All Blacks by just over a length.

Glover won gold in the women’s pair in 2012 and 2018; her legendary status was showcased when, along with Tom Daley, she carried the flag for Great Britain at the opening ceremony on Friday and said her preparations had been lifted by the honour. “It’s given me a massive boost,” she said. “You walk a little bit taller and a little bit prouder. It’s not something I expected.”

The four are hitting form at the right time. They were crowned European champions in April and Glover believes hard work is paying off when it matters. “We’ve all been consistent, robust, ready, and I think playing the long game has worked,” she said.

Craig and Grant showed why they are the team to beat in the last-ever Olympic competition in their category. They were millimetres away from a medal in Tokyo but won their heat by more than two lengths from Greece here, building up an unmatchable pace in the middle kilometre and not letting go. They will hope for a similarly commanding semi-final on Wednesday.

“I thought we rowed well and enjoyed moving out on the other crews,” Grant said. “We’ve had a really good six weeks and it’s quite exciting to think we’ve actually got better. We’ve put down some really good pieces in training and depending what the conditions throw at us I think we’re ready.”

Earlier in the morning, the European champions Wynne-Griffith and George saw off an early burst from Germany and were able to ease off in the last 500m ahead of a useful South African pair. They also face a semi-final in three days’ time. “I thought we executed it pretty well,” George said. “We knew people would jump out, it’s the Olympics. We stayed really calm but we can always be better. You don’t want to have the perfect race in the heat.”

A highly fancied men’s four of Oliver Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson reached their final, which will also take place on Thursday, but had to settle for second to an impressive New Zealand in their heat. The world and European champions have had a disrupted preparation for Paris 2024 and will hope any cobwebs have been blown away.

The women’s pair of Chloe Edwards and Rebecca Brew, considered outsiders for a medal, finished fourth and last in the first heat to involve a British crew. They must go again in Monday’s repechage.