Editions
World Rowing Championships have been held since 1962; first every four years, then annually since 1974 (except 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
- 1 2 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| World Rowing Championships | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Rowing World championship |
| Date(s) | Varying |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Country | Varying |
| Inaugurated | 1962 |
| Most recent | 2023 |
| Next event | 2024 |
| Organised by | FISA |
| Website | worldrowing |
The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the international rowing calendar.
The first event was held in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1962. [1] [2] The event then was held every four years until 1974, when it became an annual competition. Also in 1974, Men's lightweight and Women's open weight events were added to the championships.
Initially, Men's events were 2000 metres long and Women's events 1000 metres. At the 1984 World Championships in Montreal, Canada, Women's lightweight demonstration events were raced over a 2000-metre course for the first time. In 1985, Women's lightweight events were officially added to the schedule and all Men's and Women's events were contested over a 2000-metre course.[ citation needed ]
Since 1996, during (Summer) Olympic years, the World Rowing Junior Championships are held at the same time.
In 2002 adaptive rowing events were introduced for the following classes of disability: LTA (legs, trunk and arms), TA (trunk, arms), and A (arms-only). In 2009 the A category was replaced by AS (arms and shoulders), and an ID (intellectually disabled) category was added (but then removed after the 2011 Championships). From 2017 the designations AS, TA, and LTA have been changed to PR1, PR2, and PR3. [3]
Rowing takes place in 21 different boat classes, apart from during Olympic years when only non-Olympic boat classes race. National teams generally take less interest in the non-Olympic events, as the Olympic events are considered the "premier" events.
The table below shows the boat classes, "O" indicates the boat races at both the Olympics and World Championships. "WC" indicates this is only a World Championship event. After 2007, the coxed fours (4+) no longer runs as a world championship event. Similarly after 2011 the women's coxless four was no longer included, but it was reintroduced in 2013. Lightweight men's eight was removed after 2015.
As a result of the IOC's aim for gender parity, it has been agreed that for 2020 onwards the lightweight men's coxless four will be removed from the Olympics and replaced by women's coxless four. [4]
At the 2017 FISA Ordinary Congress there were further revisions, removing M2+ and LM4- from the World Championships, and reinstating LW2-. [5]
| Boat | Men | Lwt Men | Women | Lwt Women | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1x | Single sculls | O | WC | O | WC |
| 2x | Double sculls | O | O | O | O |
| 2- | Coxless pairs | O | WC | O | WC |
| 2+ | Coxed pairs | ||||
| 4x | Quad sculls | O | WC | O | WC |
| 4- | Coxless fours | O | O | ||
| 4+ | Coxed fours | ||||
| 8+ | Eights | O | O | ||
World Rowing Championships have been held since 1962; first every four years, then annually since 1974 (except 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
| Times hosted | Host country |
|---|---|
| 4 |  Canada,  Germany (including West Germany),  Great Britain,  Switzerland |
| 3 |  Austria,  Netherlands,  Yugoslavia |
| 2 |  Belgium,  Bulgaria,  Czech Republic,  Denmark,  France,  Italy,  New Zealand,  Spain,  United States |
| 1 |  Australia,  Croatia,  Finland,  Japan,  Poland,  Serbia,  Slovenia,  South Korea |
Source: [6]
Rowing (1962–2023)
| Pararowing (2002–2023)
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| Athlete | Nation | Born |  |  |  | Tot. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniele Gilardoni | Italy | 1976 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Matthew Pinsent | Great Britain | 1970 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| Steve Redgrave | Great Britain | 1962 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| Franco Sancassani | Italy | 1974 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| Francesco Esposito | Italy | 1955 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Giuseppe Di Capua | Italy | 1958 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| Andrea Re | Italy | 1963 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
incomplete list
| Rower | Total | Scull | Sweep | Disciplines | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # of disciplines |    | # of disciplines | | # of disciplines | | Scull | Sweep | |
| Michiel Bartman | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | M4x | M4+, M8+ |
| Karolien Florijn | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | W1x, W4x | W4- |
| Ronald Florijn | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | M2x | M4-, M8+ |
| Daniele Gilardoni | 2 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | LM4x | LM8+ |
| Mario Gyr | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LM2x | LM4- |
| Katherine Grainger | 5 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | W1x, W2x, W4x | W2-, W8+ |
| Kathleen Heddle | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | W2x, W4x | W2-, W8+ |
 Elisabeta Lipă | 5 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 4 | W1x, W2x, W4x | W2-, W8+ |
| Marnie McBean | 5 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | W2x, W4x | W2-, W4-, W8+ |
| Nico Rienks | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | M2x | M8+ |
| Franco Sancassani | 3 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 2 | LM4x | LM2-, LM8+ |
| Simon Schürch | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | LM2x | LM4- |
| Greg Searle | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | M1x | M2+, M4-, M8+ |
| Diederik Simon | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | M4x | M8+ |
| Martin Sinković | 3 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | M2x, M4x | M2- |
| Valent Sinković | 3 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | M2x, M4x | M2- |
| Olivia van Rooijen | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | W4x | W8- |
| Henk-Jan Zwolle | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | M2x | M8+ |
| Michael Buchheit | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | LM2x | LM4-, LM8+ |
Martin and Valent Sinković are the first crew in rowing history that in the same composition won gold medals at World Championship in sweep and scull rowing. [7]
Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is divided into two disciplines: sculling and sweep rowing. In sculling, each rower holds two oars—one in each hand, while in sweep rowing each rower holds one oar with both hands. There are several boat classes in which athletes may compete, ranging from single sculls, occupied by one person, to shells with eight rowers and a coxswain, called eights. There are a wide variety of course types and formats of racing, but most elite and championship level racing is conducted on calm water courses 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long with several lanes marked using buoys.
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. 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. Lightweight rowing events 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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An eight, abbreviated as an 8+, is a racing shell used in competitive rowing (crew). It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a coxswain, or "cox".
The 2014 World Rowing Championships were the 44th edition of the World Rowing Championships and were held from 24 to 31 August 2014 at Bosbaan, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the second occasion on which the event had been held in Amsterdam, or the Netherlands.
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The 2015 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August to 6 September 2015 at the Lac d'Aiguebelette, Aiguebelette-le-Lac in France.
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The rowing competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 13 August 2016 at the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon in Lagoa. Fourteen medal events were being contested by 547 athletes, 334 men and 213 women.
The rowing competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place between 23 and 30 July 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo Bay. Fourteen medal events were contested by 526 athletes.
The men's lightweight coxless four competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held on 6–11 August at the Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas. This was the last time that this boat class competed, as FISA axed it after the 2017 World Rowing Championships with immediate effect.
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The 1974 World Rowing Championships was the fourth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 4 to 8 September 1974 and from 29 August to 1 September 1974 on the Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. The event was significantly extended from the 1970 edition, with the addition of both women's and lightweight men's events. Six women boat classes were added, three lightweight men classes, plus quad scull for men, increasing the number of boat classes from seven in 1970 to seventeen in 1974. This was also the last World Championships held on a quadrennial cycle – from this point, World Championships were held annually.
Rowing competitions at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro were held from 9 to 11 September 2016, at Lagoa Stadium at the Games' Copacabana hub.
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Lyall McCarthy OAM is a former Australian national champion lightweight rower and national rowing coach. He has coached Australian crews to gold medals at the World Rowing Championships and the Olympic Games.
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