Award nominations for Stanning, Glover & British Rowing

November 17, 2014

The achievements of Great Britain’s Olympic & World Championship winning women’s pair, Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, have been recognised with a range of Award nominations.

In light of their superb performances in 2014 which culminated in a world record-breaking gold medal at the World Championships in Amsterdam, the duo have been nominated for the Sky & Sunday Times Team of the Year Award, and the BT Sports Action Woman of the Year Award.

The 2014 season was a hugely important one for Stanning in particular. After the pair’s triumph at the London 2012 Games, the 29-year old took some time away from the sport to resume her career as Captain in the 32nd Regiment Royal Artillery, initially returning to Larkhill Garrison before being posted to Afghanistan.

Stanning, from Lossiemouth, made her return to rowing for the 2014 season, but meeting the standards she had set herself in 2012 was not an easy task: “There were times in the early days of coming back when reaching my best form felt so far off – particularly when I had to miss the European Championships because I wasn’t ready to race. Seeing the progression Helen had made though really drove me on. To win the World Championships the way we did, after those tough times, was very special”.

Glover’s pathway since 2012 has been much different, staying with rowing and continuing to dominate the women’s pairs event on the international stage. Partnered by Polly Swann, Glover was unbeaten in the 2013 World Cup series and finished the season by winning the World Championships in Chungju, Korea. With Swann, the 28-year old also won the European Championships in 2014.

The pair were reunited at the second World Cup of 2014 in Aiguebelette, winning a convincing gold and they repeated this at the next World Cup in Lucerne, laying down a marker for the main event of the season in Amsterdam.

Glover and Stanning did not disappoint at the World Championships, taking gold in the final whilst smashing a 12-year old world record in the process by over three seconds and securing their first World title together.

“It’s an honour to be nominated for these awards alongside such amazing sportswomen – women’s sport in the UK has had a fantastic year, and it’s been great to be a part of that. It’s been great to be back in the boat with Heather this year and the World Championships was a incredible – we had our sights set on the record and to beat it by three seconds was amazing”, said Glover.

The award ceremony for the Sky & Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year will be held on the 19th of November, with live coverage available on Sky Sports. In the ‘Team of the Year’ category, Glover and Stanning are up against nominees from the worlds of women’s cricket, rugby union and athletics.

Voting is still open to decide who will succeed Downhill Mountain Biker, Rachel Atherton, as BT Sport’s Action Woman of the Year, with nine other outstanding sportswomen lining up against against the pair on the list of nominees.

Simon Green, Head of BT Sport, said: “After an outstanding year in women’s sport we are proud to once again be recognising and celebrating all the achievements and contributions women have made in 2014”.

The award ceremony will be presented by Clare Balding and will be broadcast on BT Sport on Wednesday 10th December.

Britain’s most successful female Olympic rower, Katherine Grainger, has backed the pair for the award, saying: “Helen and Heather excel as a team, bringing out the best in each other, lifting each other up, and going through the lows and highs together.

“The combination of their inspirational teamwork alongside their athletic skill, racing ability, enjoyment and impressive work ethic means they are currently the fastest women’s pair in the world. As of this summer, they are the fastest pair in history. And they know they can go even better – now that’s something to celebrate”.

British Rowing has also been nominated for the coveted National Governing Body of the Year Award by SportsCoach UK.

Since 2012 the national governing body has worked hard to maintain its level of success on the world stage and develop new para-rowing, indoor rowing and “learn to row” resources.

Chairman of British Rowing, Annamarie Phelps, said: “As a sport we work hard to expand our coaching expertise. We now deliver groundbreaking education and training programmes and constantly re-evaluate them to retain their quality. British Rowing is one of the leaders in sport in providing behavioural learning and it is important that we equip our coaches, clubs and rowers with ever-improving access to quality training.

“This approach has also expanded our ability to grow and sustain participation in the sport at all levels. Making the shortlist is a rewarding testament to the high standards delivered by coaches nationwide and British Rowing staff”.

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