Helen Glover denied third Olympic rowing gold as Dutch pip GB women’s four

Helen Glover missed out on a third Olympic gold medal after the Team GB women’s four were pipped by Netherlands at the Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Glover, the 38-year-old mother of three, and her teammates Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten were neck-and-neck with the Dutch quartet as the line approached but were beaten by 0.18sec.

In the women’s double sculls, the British pair of Rebecca Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins Byrne held off a fast-finishing Netherlands boat to win bronze behind winners New Zealand and silver medallists Romania.

It was quite an achievement for the pair to medal as Wilde had surgery on her forearms 10 months ago and Hodgkins Byrne took time away from the sport after Tokyo 2020 to have her son Freddie, now two.

There was another medal in the men’s four, with the British quartet of Oliver Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson also collecting bronze after recovering from a slow start. The US four took the gold – their first in the event in 64 years.