PARIS -- Helen Glover's bid to become a three-time Olympic gold medallist ended in heartbreak on Thursday as Team's GB's women's four had to settle for silver in a highly anticipated rowing session that also saw bronze medals in the men's coxless four and women's double sculls races.
The women's four boat, which also included Esme Booth, Sam Redgrave and Rebecca Shorten, were beaten for the first time in 2024 as Glover added a silver to her CV.
Glover won gold in the coxless pairs at London 2012 and Rio 2016 alongside Heather Stanning.
She retired from the sport soon after to become a mum to her three children, Logan, Kit and Willow. However, she returned ahead of the delayed Tokyo 2020, where she just missed out on a medal.
Paris will likely be Glover's final Games. The 38-year-old spent the past three years training alongside parenthood, and on Thursday morning it was time to find out what colour medal, if any, it would yield.
Team GB's women's four were just behind the Dutch crew for much of the race but edged into the lead with 1,500 metres to go. However, the final 500 metres saw the two boats exchange the lead with every stroke before the Netherlands broke away in the final stretch and took gold by 0.18 seconds.
"I think the thing that I've learned is the most frustrating thing is to look back and find things you could do differently," Glover said.
"Today we put it all out there, we raced the plan we wanted to race, we raced together with so much heart.
"You know what, there can't be regret looking back and knowing you did all you can."
Minutes before the women's four, Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Rebecca Wilde claimed bronze in the women's double sculls.
Hodgkins-Byrne, who is competing at her second Olympic Games, was first inspired to take up the sport by watching Glover and Stanning in 2012. Meanwhile, it is Wilde's debut Games, having only picked up the sport while studying at the University of Bath in 2017.
The British duo made a decent if unspectacular start in the 2,000-metre race but they soon overtook their Dutch counterparts and remained among the leaders after the halfway stage.
They fell away in the second half, and entered the final 500 metres in third place. Their medal hopes looked uneasy as they headed towards the line, with the Netherlands, who had dropped to fourth, moving at a rapid rate, but Hodgkins-Byrne and Wilde held on to secure another medal for Team GB.
Like Glover, Hodgkins-Byrne is also a mother -- her son, Freddie, is two years old.
"I had Freddie just over two years ago. He's actually in the grandstand, I've already seen him. Then we got selected in March, and were given a challenge that it was probably not possible to qualify. So we were just determined to do that," Hodgkins-Byrne said.
"Secretly to ourselves, we were determined to try and get on the podium and that's what we've done."
Meanwhile, Team GB's men's coxless four were aiming to return the country to its dominance in the event, with the country having won the race five times in a row between Sydney 2000 and Rio 2016.
However, the British boat of Oli Wilkes, David Ambler, Matt Aldridge and Freddie Davidson were made to settle for bronze as the United States took an early commanding lead and never let off.