Rowing

Sport Overview

Rowing at Los Angeles 2028

Venue: Marine Stadium (Rowing), Belmont Shore (Coastal Rowing)

Competition Dates: Rowing: July 15-22 (Days 1-8), Coastal Rowing: July 24-25 (Days 10-11)

Events: 15 (7 men, 7 women, 1 mixed)

Olympic rowing became fully gender equal at Tokyo 2020, finally featuring identical events for men and women. The sport evolved further for Los Angeles 2028 with the addition of coastal rowing. 

Rowing

The 12 rowing events on the Olympic program can be divided into two groups: scull events (single sculls, double sculls, quadruple sculls) and sweep events (pair, four, eight). In sculling, each rower pulls two oars. In sweeping, each rower pulls one oar. Rowing events are contested by individuals and crews of two, four or eight. On the current Olympic program, only the eight includes a coxswain to pace and steer the boat.

Each race typically covers a distance of 2000m on a six-lane course. However, at LA 2028 the racing distance will be 1500m. This shortening is due to a bridge that was installed at the Marine Stadium in Long Beach after the venue had hosted the Olympic rowing regatta in 1932, limiting the available water. 

Depending on the number of entries in each event, there can be preliminary heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. In 2025, World Rowing eliminated repechages from its progression system, instead instituting a “fastest loser” model to advance crews based on time who did not directly qualify for the next round with their placement in a heat. The A final determines the first six places and the B final determines places seven through 12.

With the elimination of lightweight events from the Olympic program, there are no weight restrictions in any event, except for coxswains who must weigh at least 55kg but don’t need to be the same gender as the crew they are coxing.

Coastal Rowing

Coastal rowing will make its Olympic debut in the form of beach sprints, which will include solo events for men and women as well as a mixed double sculls event. 

Coastal rowing boats have wider hulls than their flatwater counterparts. A levelled off stern allows water to flow out of the boat as it navigates the waves of the open water. 

As the name suggests, beach sprints begin with a short run of about 50 metres along the sand and into the ocean where the athletes enter their sculling boats. They row 250 metres out to a buoy where they make a 180-degree turn and then row the 250 metres back to shore where they jump out of the boat and sprint up the beach to the finish line. After a time trial to rank the crews, the competition is held in a head-to-head elimination format, meaning that athletes who progress further must race multiple times within a short time frame. 

Canada’s Olympic Rowing History (Pre-LA 2028)

The 44 Olympic medals won by Canadian rowers are the third-most for the country in summer sports.

Canada’s Best Ever Olympic Rowing Results by Event

It all began at St. Louis 1904 where the men’s eight won a silver medal, the first of 11 Olympic medals Canada has won in the men’s eight. That haul is highlighted by gold medals at Los Angeles 1984, Barcelona 1992 and Beijing 2008. The women’s eight has contributed six medals, highlighted by gold medals at Barcelona 1992 and Tokyo 2020. The Canadian women’s eight returned to the podium with a silver medal at Paris 2024.

The most rowing medals Canada has won at a single Olympic Games is six, achieved at Los Angeles 1984 and Atlanta 1996. It was in Los Angeles where Lesley Thompson-Willie won the first of her five Olympic medals, silver in the women’s coxed four, en route to becoming Canada’s most decorated rower. Her other four medals came in the women’s eight.

It was also in Atlanta where Marnie McBean and Kathleen Heddle became the first Canadian athletes to ever win three career Olympic gold medals, winning the women’s double sculls to add to the double gold they had won at Barcelona 1992 in the women’s pair and women’s eight. Canada didn’t win another medal in the women’s pair until Caileigh Filmer and Hillary Janssens captured bronze at Tokyo 2020.  

Of Canada’s five rowing medals won in Barcelona, four were gold to go with the bronze medal won in the women’s single sculls by Silken Laumann just 78 days and five surgeries after a training accident that saw another shell ram into her, breaking her right leg.

Canada’s first Olympic gold medal in rowing was won in the men’s four at Melbourne 1956. It was followed eight years later by George Hungerford and Roger Jackson winning the men’s pair at Tokyo 1964 where they were dubbed the Golden Rejects after going from alternates to Olympic champions just weeks after beginning to train together. They were Canada’s first Olympic gold medallists after the maple leaf flag had become official less than four months earlier.

At Rio 2016, Canada earned just one medal on the water as Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee claimed silver in the women’s lightweight double sculls.

Olympic Rowing History

Rowing was supposed to be included at the first Olympic Games in 1896, but rough seas forced the cancellation of the events. Rowing has been successfully contested at every Olympic Games dating back to Paris 1900. Only men competed in Olympic rowing until Montreal 1976 when six women’s events were added. At that time, women’s races were over 1000m. It wasn’t until Seoul 1988 that women’s rowing events were also held on 2000m courses, like the men.