Women's pair finds new partnerships

Over the next weeks World Rowing will look back at the moments that defined each boat class and the crews that had the world talking. This week it’s the women’s pair.

It is not easy to forget the moment when Helen Glover and Heather Stanning crossed the finish line at the 2012 London Olympics in the women's pair, rowing for Great Britain.

The crowd was electric. It was Great Britain’s first gold medal at the Games and their first gold medal in women’s rowing. The duo lit up the podium and set the stage for the races to come.

This is the first story in a weekly series of reviews where World Rowing looks back on rowing's different boat classes and how they shaped up in 2013. The women’s pair is the focus here.

When Heather Stanning announced her return to the army, fans around the world wondered what would become of her rowing partner, Helen Glover. Glover had been identified through Great Britain’s talent ID programme just four years earlier and had no intention of ending her rowing career. Glover was paired up with Polly Swann and the transition was seamless.

The pair started the 2013 season by taking the gold medal at the first World Rowing Cup in Sydney, Australia, and it did not stop there. They claimed gold at the next two World Rowing Cups and finally at the World Rowing Championships in Chungju, Korea.

“We were in a commanding position from stroke one. The USA put us under pressure for first 500 metres and made us a bit worried. But we stayed focused and continued on. At 1000 metres we looked at the Romanians and we knew we had it under control. We just couldn’t believe how good it felt for the second thousand. Crossing the finish line we were overjoyed that we did it,” Glover says of the World Championships final.

It was an unbeaten season for the new line-up and a perfect way to start off the new Olympic cycle. But they will have to stay focused if their ultimate goal is gold at Rio 2016.  

Gunning from behind them and also on the podium in Chungju were pairs Roxana Cogianu and Nicoleta Albu of Romania and Rebecca Scown and Kayla Pratt of New Zealand.

Cogianu and Albu came together just one month before the Championships, “This is the beginning,” Albu says. “Our aim is the gold, maybe next year, maybe in Rio. We are very happy because you have to start somewhere.” The duo spent most of the 2013 season in the women’s eight in which they also medalled at the World Championships. Switching from the eight to the pair Cogianu and Albu picked up one gold and three silver medals this season.

Pratt and Scown finished third at the World Championships and admitted that it was a tough race and the end to a difficult season. With Glover and Swann dominating the spotlight in the women’s pair, it was challenging for these other crews to get out in front.

As expectations rise for the British crew, everyone else will be looking to mount a challenge in the 2014 season.