Helen Glover is no stranger to breaking new ground.
Alongside Heather Stanning, she won Team GB's first gold of London 2012 on a memorable morning at Eton Dorney and the pair became the first British female rowers to defend an Olympic title four years later.
Now, just 12 months after giving birth to twins, Glover is back for more as she bids to write a remarkable third chapter in her glittering Olympic tale.
The 34-year-old has returned to training with the GB Rowing team with the aim of securing a spot in the squad heading to Tokyo this summer. If successful, Glover would become the first British female rower to compete at an Olympics after having children with twins Bo and Kit arriving in 2020, a year and a half after older brother Logan.
That is just one of several motivating factors driving Glover's return to the boat and she admitted pinching herself at the prospect of playing an active role in the Games having been prepared for a watching brief.
"I thought I'd woken up in my last Olympic year five years ago, so to think it could be happening again in a few months' time is still sinking in," she said.
"For the last four years, I haven't thought about Tokyo. The only thing I've wondered was if it would be hard to watch, as the first Olympics without taking part.
"I was really excited to see the team in action – I love the Olympics and I love supporting Team GB. But I never thought I'd be talking about potentially going to Tokyo myself.
"It's strange, in some ways, but so exciting. This is the first step to thinking it could really happen."
It was last summer when, in Glover's words, 'the thought became an idea'.
With travel plans disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic – which also pushed the Olympics back 12 months – Glover returned to the rowing machine during the first UK lockdown in March.
Initially, this was to restore fitness following the arrival of Bo and Kit but before long, she was recording impressive times and the prospect of a competitive return began to arise.
"I was coming back from rock bottom, physically – I had just had twins so my body was not what it was before," she said.
"It wasn't that top level buzz, or the image of standing on top of the podium, I was after.
"I was looking for that grittiness. It's all very well being set up for top level performance when everything is in your favour as a full-time athlete but what can you do when you're tired, busy and have other priorities? Could it still be possible to go to a Games?
"It might be ridiculous to think I could but I am lucky to be surrounded by amazing family and friends, who have all been so encouraging.
"I told myself that if I was still enjoying it by Christmas, I'd trial. Hand on heart, I did not think that was going to happen but everything has run quite smoothly and given us a nice routine.
"Suddenly we got to Christmas time and I had made this promise to myself to go to a trial. It was quite daunting but now I've ended up here!"
Balancing training for an Olympics with bringing up three children under three brings with it unique challenges.
Far from attempting to create excuses, however, Glover believes the benefits far outweigh any potential hurdles and credited her children with helping to inspire a change in outlook.
"If I had a bad session, I used to be an awful person to be around for a couple of days," she said.
"Now, I walk in and I'm mum again – they don't care what I've done on the rowing machine. If you come in and see your one-year-old taking their first steps, or your toddler dancing and singing, how can you bang on about a score on the machine?
"Thinking about the three of them – even if they're too young to remember it – and being able to tell them they were around when this happened is definitely a big motivator.
"The big question I've always had is whether there is enough time to train without letting family life slip.
"The moment I feel that any of the children miss out at all, I will step away from rowing. But I don't see that happening. I'm really happy with the balance at the moment."
Support and advice from fellow Team GB stars who have trodden the same path, meanwhile, has also proved invaluable.
"Something like this takes other people trying for you to be able to get it right," Glover said.
"Anna Watkins, who attempted to come back after having children, was one of the first people I spoke to. She was amazing, as was Dame Sarah Storey – they have both given me loads of advice and I'm so grateful.
"I might not be the person that gets it right but I hope that in trying, it will lead the way for someone else to do it.
"There can be an expectation with female sportspeople that when you have children, your career ends. For some people, that's the right time – and maybe it will be for me – but I think knowing the opportunity isn't closed is really important."
Squads are due to be finalised in the coming weeks and should Glover be selected, she will have a new face – or faces – alongside her in the boat.
Stanning, with whom Glover enjoyed an incredible 39-race unbeaten streak which encompassed World and European titles along with two Olympic golds, retired in November 2016 and has since started a family of her own.
"Heather had a baby around the same time I had the twins a year ago," Glover said.
"We were so excited, talking about how they would all grow up together, but so far they have only met each other once because of the restrictions. I'm really looking forward to introducing the kids to 'normal' things.
"Heather is back at work with the Army so she gets that need for having something else to focus on. She can understand why I want to row – but I think she's glad it's me not her!
"As soon as they start talking about combinations, it's going to be very weird not to have Heather around. She has been attached to me and I've been her sidekick for the past ten years."
But while Glover and Stanning became accustomed to targeting – and delivering – victories, success on this occasion would mean something very different to one of Britain's most decorated rowers.
"Previously, it's been all about what happens at the finish line but now, just making the start line would be a really big achievement," she said.
"Getting there, what it would mean and what it has taken – not just for me but the whole family – would be incredible. I would feel so proud of all of us."