Olympic champion Helen Glover to visit Exeter for Leading Edge speaker series

Double Olympic champion Helen Glover OBE will visit the University of Exeter Business School today as the latest guest in its Leading Edge speaker series, a programme of events that explores leadership, resilience and purpose through the experiences of influential figures.

Glover, one of Britain’s most successful rowers, will share the story behind a sporting career that has spanned more than a decade at the highest level, from her unlikely entry into rowing through a talent identification programme to Olympic gold medals, retirement, motherhood and an unexpected return to elite competition.

Her talk will take audience members on a journey through the defining moments of her career, reflecting on the role of teachers, coaches and teammates in shaping her leadership style and approach to performance.

Born and raised in Cornwall, Glover was not a rower growing up and only discovered the sport after being selected for the Sporting Giants talent programme in 2008, an initiative designed to identify athletes with the potential to succeed in Olympic sports ahead of the London 2012 Games. 

Four years later, she and rowing partner Heather Stanning delivered one of the defining moments of the Games, winning Team GB’s first gold medal of London 2012 in the women’s coxless pair.

The pair remained unbeaten for five years, collecting world and European titles before defending their Olympic crown at Rio 2016.

Glover retired after Rio and in the years that followed married the television presenter and naturalist Steve Backshall and had three children.

For many athletes that would mark the end of an elite sporting career, but for Glover it was the beginning of a new chapter.

In 2021 she made history by returning to the British rowing team after the birth of her children, competing at the delayed Tokyo Olympics. 

The comeback, conceived during lockdown training sessions at home, challenged long-held assumptions about motherhood and elite sport.

“I want to be an elite athlete and a mum, not an elite athlete despite being a mum,” Glover said in an interview reflecting on her return to competition. “I want to be able to do the two absolutely to the same ability as everybody else, without my being a mum being seen as a negative or leaving an asterisk beside my name.”

Glover returned to Olympic competition once again at Paris 2024, winning silver as part of the women’s four, a moment made more meaningful by competing in front of her children.

For those attending the Leading Edge event, Glover’s story offers insights that extend beyond sport. Her experiences navigating pressure, managing expectations and  balancing ambition with family life mirror the leadership challenges faced in many professional environments.

The Leading Edge series at the University of Exeter Business School brings together students, apprentices, alumni and business leaders to explore what it means to lead with purpose in complex and rapidly changing environments. 

Glover’s appearance continues that conversation through the lens of elite sport, where marginal gains, teamwork and mental resilience often determine the difference between success and failure.

Find out more about the Leading Edge speaker series here.