Moray’s golden girl Heather Stanning will not have much time to celebrate her latest Olympic gold medal.
The Lossiemouth rower, who is also a captain in the army, has just been booked to speak at a major conference on combat stress and mental health problems for soldiers.
After beginning her armed forces career eight years ago the back-to-back Olympic champion has combined her rowing ambitions with serving her country.
Between climbing to the top step of the podium at the London games and powering to the line in Rio with partner Helen Golver, Stanning was posted to Afghanistan with the Royal Artillery as a battery operations officer.
Now Lossiemouth’s golden girl will be a guest speaker at Combat Stress’ conference later this year, which helps veterans with mental health issues.
Peter Poole, chief of staff at the charity, said: “Heather has worked hard to become both an army and a successful athlete.
“She is a fantastic role model and an inspirational speaker and we are delighted to have her join us as a guest speaker at our Autumn Lecture.
“Combat Stress continues to see an increase in the number of veteran referrals we receive each year. It is therefore vital that we raise awareness and support for the charity to meet this increasing demand.”
The 31-year-old’s successful defence of the women’s pairs title in Rio has captured the imagination of Moray.
Preparations are already underway for a homecoming to rival 2012’s celebrations when thousands turned out to get a glimpse of the gold medal.
As well as balancing rowing and the armed forces to find success on the water, Stanning has also been selected for promotion to the rank of major in the army.
The Lossiemouth rower will be guest speaker at the Combat Stress autumn lecture on October 6 at Loretto School in Musselburgh.