Rowing_at_the_Olympics

Rowing at the Summer Olympics

Rowing at the Summer Olympics

Pinnacle event in rowing

Rowing has been part of the Summer Olympics since its debut in the 1900 Games. Rowing was on the program at the 1896 Summer Olympics but was cancelled due to bad weather.[1] Only men were allowed to compete until the women's events were introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal which gave national federations the incentive to support women's events and catalysed growth in women's rowing.[2] Lightweight rowing events (which have weight-limited crews) were introduced to the games in 1996. Qualifying for the rowing events is under the jurisdiction of the World Rowing Federation. World Rowing predates the modern Olympics and was the first international sport federation to join the modern Olympic movement.

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Summary

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Events

At the 2016 and other recent Olympics, the following 14 events were contested:

The lightweight events were threatened in 2002 when the Programme Commission of the IOC recommended that, outside combat sports (boxing and wrestling, but not fencing, shooting, and archery) and weightlifting, there should not be weight-category events. The Executive Board overturned this recommendation and the lightweight rowing has been continued.

To satisfy the IOC's aim for gender equality it has been proposed that from the 2020 Olympics onwards the men's lightweight fours will be removed and the women's coxless fours reintroduced. The IOC accepted that proposal in June 2017.[3]

In the early games (1900 and 1904) there were several other categories of events (Junior, Novice, Association, and Intermediate). A number of other boat classes have made an appearance at several games (sometimes for a long time) but have been subsequently dropped – as recently as the 1990s. The primary loss has been in boats with coxswains, except for the eights, which have always been coxed. These were:

  • Men's Coxed Pair (1900–1992)
  • Men's Coxed Four (1900–1992)
  • Women's Coxed Four (1976–1988)
  • Women's Coxed Quad Sculls (1976–1984)
  • Men's Coxed Four with Inriggers[4] (1912 only)
  • Six-Man Naval Rowing Boats (1906 only)
  • 17-Man Naval Rowing Boats (1906 only)

Other non-Olympic boatclasses, which still compete in World Championships, are currently: men's & women's lightweight single sculls, lightweight quadruple sculls and lightweight coxless pair.

Race distances

Today all races are raced over a 2000m course, but this became standard until the Stockholm Olympics in 1912 (except for London 1948, where the course was 1850m).

Before this, it was raced over various distances: the course in Paris in 1900 was 1750m, in St. Louis in 1904 it was 3218m, and in London in 1908 it was 2414m. The 1908 and 1948 events were held over the Henley Royal Regatta course.

Women's races were raced over 1000m until 1988, when they were changed to 2000m.[5]

Early Games featured match races between two or three boats, until the modern six boat side-by-side format was first adopted at the 1936 Olympic Games. With the exception of the 1952 Olympic Games (races between four or five boats), it has been the standard since.

Qualification

There is a limited number of crews permitted to race, so the International Rowing Federation holds qualification events in order to determine who competes at the Olympic Games. At the Olympic Games, each National Olympic Committee can only have one boat per event.

The main qualification comes from the previous year's World Rowing Championships. Other qualifying events are called "Continental Qualification Regattas", of which four are held during the year preceding the games - Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Final (open to everyone else). Each year FISA issues details of how many crews qualify at each regatta.

At the World Championships, the top finishing boats guarantee a place for that country - the rowers in the crew can be changed before the games. At the qualification regattas, it is the crew that wins that qualifies for the Olympics, and if members of that crew race in the Olympics they must race in that event.

Medal table

The numbers below are after the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[6]

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Rowing medal leaders (by Summer Olympiad)

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Multiple medallists

The table shows those who have won at least 3 gold medals.

Athlete (nation) Olympics  Gold  Silver Bronze Total Notes
Elisabeta Lipă
 Romania		 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 5 2 1 8 20 years between first and last gold medal
Steve Redgrave
 Great Britain		 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 5 0 1 6 Gold medals in 1984 (M4+), 1988 (M2- with Andy Holmes), 1992 and 1996 (M2- with Matthew Pinsent) and 2000 (M4-). Only endurance athlete to win Olympic gold at five consecutive games.
Georgeta Damian
 Romania		 2000, 2004, 2008 5 0 1 6 Won the pair and the eights in both 2000 and 2004, and the pair again in 2008
Doina Ignat
 Romania		 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 4 1 1 6 Part of Romania's three-straight gold medalist eight
Kathrin Boron
 Germany		 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 4 0 1 5 Four straight Olympic golds. Bronze in her final Olympics in the Quadruple Sculls
Viorica Susanu
 Romania		 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 4 0 1 5 Won three medals in the women's eight, and two in the pair
Matthew Pinsent
 Great Britain		 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 4 0 0 4 Four straight Olympic golds. Won with Steve Redgrave in the pair in 1992 and 1996. In the coxless four in 2000 and in 2004
Jack Beresford
 Great Britain		 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936 3 2 0 5 First rower to win a medal at 5 straight Olympics. WWII prevented the opportunity for a sixth medal
Constanța Burcică
 Romania		 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 3 1 1 5 Won three gold medals in the women's lightweight double sculls
Elena Georgescu
 Romania		 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 3 1 1 5 Coxswain of Romania's women's eight
Drew Ginn
 Australia		 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012 3 1 0 4 Member of the Oarsome Foursome
Eskild Ebbesen
 Denmark		 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 3 0 2 5 Won all his medals in the lightweight coxless four
Marnie McBean
 Canada		 1992, 1996 3 0 1 4 Along with rowing partner Kathleen Heddle, Canadian with the most gold medals
Kathleen Heddle
 Canada		 1992, 1996 3 0 1 4 Won all her medals with rowing partner Marnie McBean
James Tomkins
 Australia		 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 3 0 1 4 Most medalled Australian rower
John B. Kelly Sr.
 United States		 1920, 1924 3 0 0 3 First rower to win 3 gold medals. Father of movie star turned princess Grace Kelly
Paul Costello
 United States		 1920, 1924, 1928 3 0 0 3 First man to win 3 gold medals in the same event, the double sculls. Cousin of John B. Kelly Sr.
Vyacheslav Ivanov
 Soviet Union		 1956, 1960, 1964 3 0 0 3 Won all his medals in the single sculls
Siegfried Brietzke
 East Germany		 1972, 1976, 1980 3 0 0 3 First German triple gold medalist. Won in the pair and the coxless four
Pertti Karppinen
 Finland		 1976, 1980, 1984 3 0 0 3 Won all his medals in the single sculls
Agostino Abbagnale
 Italy		 1988, 1996, 2000 3 0 0 3 His brothers Carmine and Giuseppe each won 2 gold medals.
Liliana Gafencu
 Romania		 1996, 2000, 2004 3 0 0 3 Won all three medals in Romania's women's eight
Elle Logan
 United States		 2008, 2012, 2016 3 0 0 3 Won all three medals in USA women's eight
Pete Reed
 Great Britain		 2008, 2012, 2016 3 0 0 3 Two wins in coxless four, then in eight
Andrew Triggs Hodge
 Great Britain		 2008, 2012, 2016 3 0 0 3 Two wins in coxless four, then in eight
Hamish Bond
 New Zealand		 2012, 2016, 2020 3 0 0 3 Two wins in coxless pair, then in eight

Men's events

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Women's events

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Nations

Number of rowers from each nation by year of Olympics, starting with 1896 (when none competed due to bad weather) then 1900 through 2020.

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Venues

Main article: List of Olympic venues in rowing

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "History of Rowing at the Olympic Games" (PDF). IOC. March 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  2. [2]
    "Feature: the impact of Olympic inclusion on women's rowing". World Rowing. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. [3]
    "The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games rowing programme announced". World Rowing. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  4. [4]
    An "inrigger" is a boat with oarlocks attached directly on the gunwale.
  5. [5]
    "Women in rowing". World Rowing. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  6. [6]
    "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
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