THERE are many adjectives that Lucy Glover’s former Warrington Rowing Club coach could use to describe her.

But two keep popping up repeatedly – driven and determined.

It is those two traits that have set the 21-year-old apart from the rest and earned her a first senior Great Britain vest for Team GB’s women’s quadruple sculls crew in the European Rowing Championships.

Glover – who represents Edinburgh University – will row alongside Reading University’s Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne, Leander Club’s Hannah Scott and Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne of the University of London

Backtrack five years though, and head ladies coach Richard Sinnott says the signs were there when she was part of the under 16s team.

“She’s one of the most driven people I’ve ever met in my life and has a goal and is absolutely determined to get there," he said.

“Even from that age, she was mentally very, very strong and it’s the sign of a real top athlete.

"That was apparent when I first started working with her and even before it was apparent that she was destined to go where she wanted to.”

So how does the former Lymm High School pupil rank from the crop of talent that Warrington have produced?

“She’s in the top sort of three or two," Sinnott said.

“The other spectacular one we had was Richard Egington, who won two Olympic medals, but he was a different athlete.

"He was a big athlete, he was huge, and Jurgen Grobler (former Team GB head coach) described him as one the most powerful athletes he has ever dealt with. And he’s dealt with [Steve] Redgrave and people like that – it’s some accolade.

“Lucy’s just a totally different athlete. Whereas Rich was heart and lungs if you like, Lucy’s great, it’s very much a determination – an absolute fierce, driven determination.

“A different type of athlete from being an out-and-out powerhouse.

"She is a bit like Lee Briers in a way – Lee knew how to run things and get the best out of people and that’s the kind of similar thing with Lucy.

“Physically, she’s not quite what you’d expect for an international rower to be – she’s not quite as big as you’d expect, she’d probably hate me for saying this.

"But it is this absolute driven determination that makes her stand out.”

And when Sinnott found out about her first Team GB vest, announced on Wednesday, he and the club would have been filled with joy.

“Immensely proud. Because of lockdown, the whole situation is very different," he said.

"She’s at Edinburgh University but most of her final year at Edinburgh has been spent at home. So she’s actually trained, pretty much, I’m going to say the last six months.

“She’s been at home for that last six months, so we’ve seen a lot of her. She has been around and training a lot.

"The club couldn’t be prouder of her because she’s a real Warringtonian and she’s very proud of her roots.

“She’s very proud of the fact that she’s representing Warrington Rowing Club all over the place.”

Despite Glover's age, she has taken what she has learnt and used it to build a remarkably faultless record.

“She’s very young still. For a senior international she’s still very young, but she’s not let that stand in her way," Sinnott said.

"She’s one of the youngest athletes ever to have won a world under 23 event.

“She’s got a record of achieving and she’s never been to an international regatta and not come away with a medal.

“So, it’s not a bad collection.

“The situation is very complicated at the moment. Because of Covid and things, the whole international scene is up in the air at the moment.

"Quite where she will go past this event, I’m not 100% sure, even I don’t know and I know the sport inside out.

“The Olympics is obviously her dream, whether she gets there this time or certainly next time, she’s in the running.”

The European Rowing Championships, where Glover will make her Team GB debut, take place in Varese, Italy on April 9-11, with the final on April 11 being televised.