Photography BENEDICT TUFNELL + NAOMI BAKER
On August 1st 2012 Heather Stanning and Helen Glover made history. Not only winning Team GB’s first gold of the London Olympic Games, they were British Rowing’s first female Olympic champions. Unlike some of their teammates, however, just a few years earlier this achievement would have seemed like a mere dream. Despite the odds, a former school teacher and a Royal Artillery officer have come to form one of the strongest partnerships in international rowing.
Both Glover and Stanning come from tight-knit families, spending much of their childhoods outdoors. Glover’s upbringing amongst her large family was firmly grounded in Cornwall, whilst Stanning’s military upbringing resulted in a lot of moving around. Both were sporty children, with Glover particularly excelling in hockey and running. Stanning joined the World Class Start talent identification programme as a student at Bath University, and by 2007 had won a gold medal at the U23 World Championships in a pair with Olivia Whitlam. At this point she thought she had reached her limit, and put rowing aside to concentrate on her army career. However watching her former crewmate race in the pairs final at the 2008 Olympics triggered something within Stanning, and she began to think she’d given up too easily.