OLYMPIC gold medal winning rower Anna Watkins has announced that she is expecting her first child.
Anna, aged 30, from Longsdon, confirmed the news that she and her husband Oliver are expecting a baby in the autumn.
Speaking on Twitter, she said: “It’s true, I am expecting a baby in September. So excited!”
Speaking to the Post & Times this week Anna, who is three-anda- half months pregnant, said the birth raised questions about her participation in the next Olympics in Rio, Brazil, in 2016.
She said: “It does throw up lots of questions about whether I’ll be going back to rowing, because it would be difficult.
“But I do genuinely feel like I've got a choice.
“I’m not being forced into either decision.
“I’m going to wait and see how I feel in the Autumn after I've had the baby.
“I’m really happy about it. I know nothing is going to top the Olympics in some ways, but this seems like a bigger deal and is really important to me because it’s more personal.
“It does feel like the right time and I'm really happy to be moving on in my life.
“Everybody in the family is really happy and we’re all looking forward to it.”
Anna won gold with partner Katherine Grainger, aged 37, at Eton Dorney during the London 2012 Olympics.
In an interview with the Post & Times during her homecoming celebrations after her Olympic success in September, Anna talked about her future plans, and hinted that a family could be on the cards.
She said: “I have a lot of good options, either going back to rowing for the Olympics in Rio in 2016, settling down and having a family, or taking some of the opportunities that have come up since the race.
“I definitely want to have a family at some point and I probably could do another Olympics beforehand.”
