History of Rowing at the Olympic Games

Rowing has been on the Olympic programme for well over a century. This timeline covers the main milestones, the venues, and a handful of stories that show how the regatta has changed. Details such as exact venues, crew line-ups and event lists are worth checking against the IOC or World Rowing if you plan to quote them.

The early Games

Rowing was scheduled for the first modern Games in Athens in 1896, but rough weather meant the races were cancelled. It was first contested in Paris in 1900, at Courbevoie. Early regattas were small and varied, with different boats and course lengths from Games to Games: 1,750 m in Paris in 1900 and 3,218 m in St Louis in 1904.

One of the best-known stories from 1900 involves the Dutch pair François Brandt and Roelof Klein, who took a local boy from the crowd as their coxswain before the final and won the coxed pairs by 0.2 seconds. The boy was supposedly seven, and his identity was never established. It illustrates how informal the early Games were.

1908 to 1948

London hosted rowing in 1908 at Henley, and again in 1948. The 2,000 m standard was adopted for the Stockholm Games of 1912, although Henley’s 2,112 m course was used in both 1908 and 1948. The 1936 Games in Berlin are covered in our page on rowing at the 1936 Olympics.

Some of the standout early figures include the American Jack Kelly Sr., who won the single sculls at Antwerp in 1920 and almost immediately afterwards won the double sculls with Paul Costello, and Britain’s Jack Beresford, who won medals at five Games in a row, three gold and two silver, between 1920 and 1936. See Jack Beresford.

American eights dominated the men’s event for decades, winning all but two of the Olympic titles from 1900 to 1956. University crews played a large part, with the University of Washington crew of Berlin 1936 among the best remembered.

Post-war growth

Games followed in Helsinki (1952), Melbourne (1956), Rome (1960), Tokyo (1964), Mexico City (1968) and Munich (1972), with the sport becoming increasingly international and professional. Rowing at the Mexico City Games was held at altitude, on an artificial six-lane course dug at Xochimilco, and Munich built a dedicated course at Oberschleissheim.

Politics reached the regatta too: American rowers missed Moscow in 1980 because of the United States boycott. At Los Angeles in 1984, Steve Redgrave won the first of his five golds in the coxed four, and in the single sculls, Finland’s Pertti Karppinen won his third gold at three consecutive Games, after Montreal in 1976 and Moscow in 1980.

Women and lightweights

Women’s rowing joined the programme at Montreal in 1976, and lightweight events were added at Atlanta in 1996. The Atlanta regatta was held at Lake Lanier. Australia’s coxless four, nicknamed the Oarsome Foursome, won gold at Barcelona in 1992 with Andrew Cooper, Nick Green, Mike McKay and James Tomkins, then kept the title in 1996 with Drew Ginn in place of Cooper. The Games of that era also saw the rise of Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Modern venues

Games	Rowing venue
Sydney 2000	Penrith
Athens 2004	Schinias
Beijing 2008	Shunyi
London 2012	Eton Dorney
Rio 2016	Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas
Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021)	Sea Forest Waterway
Paris 2024	Vaires-sur-Marne

What changed over time

• Boats. Wooden boats gave way to carbon fibre, and rigging became more precise.
• Distance. Courses varied early on and later settled at 2,000 m, matching the world championship standard.
• Women. From a first appearance in 1976, women’s events grew to match men’s in number at Tokyo 2020.
• Training. Full-time professional programmes replaced the amateur era.
• Data. Sensors, video and ergometer testing now guide selection and coaching.

Change and the future

The programme keeps evolving. Paris 2024 was the last Games with lightweight events, and for Los Angeles 2028 three beach sprint events join the 12 classic events, making 15 medal events in all. See our page on emerging trends, and for the most recent regatta read about rowing at Paris 2024.

For British context, see British rowing’s Olympic history or the Olympic rowing hub.