Olympic Games

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Rowing at the Olympics

• Rowing had been scheduled on the program for the 1896 Athens Olympics but was cancelled due to poor weather.

• The boy who coxed the winning pair in the rowing events at the 1900 Olympics is believed to be only 7 years old.

• Rowing was on the program at the 1896 Summer Olympics but was cancelled due to weather. It has been on the Olympic program since 1900.

• Women's events were introduced at the 1976 Games in Montreal.

• The standard 2000 m course was not always the case. The distance was different in Paris in 1900 (1,750 m), in St. Louis in 1904 (3218 m), in London in 1908 (2,412 m) also in London 1948 (1,850 m).

• The 1908 and 1948 rowing races were held over the Henley Royal Regatta course.

• Women's races were raced over 1,000 meters until 1988 when they were changed to 2,000 meters.

• Early games featured match races between two or three boats (in 1952, between four or five boats).

• The modern six boat side-by-side format was first adopted at the 1936 Olympic Games, and has been the standard since the 1956 Olympic Games.

• In 2000, British rower Steven Redgrave became the first athlete to win gold medals in five consecutive Olympics.

• Currently at the Olympics there are 14 events: Men: quad sculls, double sculls, single sculls, eight, coxless four, coxless pair, Lightweight Men: coxless four, double sculls, Women: quad sculls, double sculls, single sculls, eight, coxless pair, Lightweight Women: double sculls.

• Events that have been part of previous Olympic Games include:
  • 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)
    
  • Women's Coxless Four (1992 only)
    
  • Men's Coxed Four with Inriggers[1] (1912 only)
    
  • Six-Man Naval Rowing Boats (1906 only)
    
  • 17-Man Naval Rowing Boats (1906 only)
    

Related Pages

• List of Olympic Sports
• about the sport of Rowing