Rowing at the Olympics: Dates, events, schedule, history and Team GB prospects

Read the events, dates and favourites for the rowing events at the Olympics this summer.

Olympic Rowing Dates

The rowing competitions at the Summer Olympics in Paris are scheduled to run from July 27th to August 3rd.

Olympic Rowing Events

The rowing programme at the Summer Olympics features 14 events, seven each for both men and women in identical boat classes.

Events for the Olympic rowing will be split into two categories: sweep rowing and sculling. In sweep rowing, competitors use a single oar, while in sculling two are placed on opposite sides of the boat.

There is also a single lightweight (weight restricted) event for each gender, known as the lightweight double sculls.

Men and women will each compete for medals in the following:

• Single sculls
• Coxless pair
• Double sculls
• Lwt double sculls
• Coxless four
• Quadruple sculls
• Eight

Olympic Rowing Venues

All of the Olympic events will take place on the straight 2,000m course at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium.

Located on the outskirts of eastern Paris, the venue - which was completed in 2019 - can accommodate 24,000 spectators.

Olympic Rowing History

When was Rowing introduced into the Olympics?

Rowing events for men were first held at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, while women's events were first introduced at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

Today all races take place over a 2000m course, which only became standard at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, while the course was only 1850m long for the 1948 Games in London.

Women's races were raced over 1000m until 1988, when they were then changed to match the men's programme.

Early Games saw races between two or three boats, until the modern six-boat side-by-side format was first introduced at the 1936 Olympic Games.

Olympic Rowing British Prospects

Great Britain are one of the dominant forces in rowing and have won a medal at every Games since 1984.

Team GB have qualified crews in 10 of the 14 rowing events this summer.

GB are the current world champions in the men's coxless four, men's eight, women's lightweight double sculls and women's quadruple sculls.

When were the most recent British Olympic Rowing golds?

Great Britain failed to win a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020, finishing 14th overall in the rowing standings.

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Great Britain won gold in the men's Coxless four and Coxed eight, while they also won gold in the women's Coxless pair thanks to Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.

Team GB's Olympic Rowing Record

Great Britain have won a total of 70 medals since the 1900 Olympic Games. There have been 31 gold, 25 silver and 14 bronze medals during that time.

Sir Steve Redgrave is Britain's most decorated Olympic rower, with five gold medals and a bronze from five successive Games.

Sir Matthew Pinsent won four gold medals, while Dame Katherine Grainger won a gold and four silver medals during her career.

Olympic Rowing Favourite

Who are the favourites to win Rowing golds in Paris?

Great Britain are well fancied to win the men's four and men's eight this summer, but the Netherlands are tipped to shine in the men's quadruple sculls.

In the men's single sculls, Germany's Oliver Zeidler and the Netherlands' Simon Van Dorp are expected to compete for gold.

In the women's eight, Romania are the heavy favourites to succeed, while they have work to do if they want to beat the Netherlands in the women's four.

Dutch rower Karolien Florijn is tipped to win the women's single sculls, while in the quadruple sculls Great Britain are expected to compete for a medal.