European Rowing Championships 2023: NI's Shorten and Scott named in Great Britain squad

Rebecca Shorten (far left) was part of the GB team that won women's four gold at last year's European Championships in Munich

Tokyo Olympians Rebecca Shorten and Hannah Scott have been named in the Great Britain rowing squad for this month's European Championships.

Shorten will stroke the women's four which was unbeaten in 2022 winning both the European and World titles.

One change from that victorious quartet sees two-time Olympic champion Helen Glover return to the squad for the first time since the Tokyo Games.

The European Championships take place in Bled, Slovenia from 25-28 May.

Glover replaces Samantha Redgrave, who moves to the women's eight, while the four is completed by Heidi Long and Rowan McKellar.

Glover won Olympic gold at London 2012 in the women's pair alongside Heather Stanning and the duo successfully defended their title in Rio four years later.

Glover, who is married to television presenter Steve Backshall, is the mother of three children, and after taking time away from the sport she came out of retirement and was selected to her third Olympics in Tokyo, where she finished in fourth place in the women's pair alongside Polly Swann.

After returning to training last year and winning the first trial in February, Glover announced she would be targeting a fourth Olympics.

Shorten, who also finished fourth in Tokyo in the women's four, partnered Glover to success at the final selection trials held at the squad's base at Caversham in April.

"It's great to have Helen on the team and bringing all of that experience and you can learn so much from her mindset and how she trains," said Shorten.

"At first, I was terrified to jump into the pair with her as she's a double Olympic champion, but it was very exciting to row with her.

"Helen is someone I would have looked up to and to get that opportunity to row with her was amazing."

Scott eyes second Olympics after injury woes

Scott will also be hoping to qualify for her second Olympics in Paris. The Coleraine sculler had an injury-plagued 2022 which interrupted a single sculls campaign that began with a bronze medal in the first World Cup.

However, the only other time she was able to race was at the World Championships where she finished a creditable fifth.

She returns to the women's quadruple sculls alongside Lucy Glover, Georgie Brayshaw and Lauren Henry.

"I wanted to learn as much as possible about myself in the first year of the Olympic cycle and that's why I wanted to race the single," said Scott.

"It was all about pushing myself in what a lot of people think is the hardest boat category. I had some injuries along the way, but I was proud to reach the World final.

"This year the top boat going into the Europeans is the quad and so I've shifted my perspective towards qualification and winning medals, so I've targeted the quad and it's great after a hard gruelling process to be back in one of the top boats. Every seat has been earned."

Aughnacloy's Rebecca Edwards, Northern Ireland's third Tokyo Olympian, will travel with the squad as one of the three reserves.

After the Europeans there will be two World Cups in Varese and Lucerne before the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade in September, where the majority of Olympic places for Paris next summer will be won.