Rowing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Great Britain's men's eight celebrate winning gold at the European Championships in April
Great Britain won eight golds to finish top of the medal table at the European Rowing Championships in April [Getty Images]

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

Here's all you need to know about rowing at Paris 2024.

How does Olympic rowing work and what's the venue and schedule?

Great Britain have qualified crews in 10 of the 14 rowing events, with the competition running for eight days from Saturday, 27 July to Saturday, 3 August.

A maximum of 502 rowers will compete in 14 events - seven for men and seven for women - with the medals decided over the last four days.

There are two types of rowing - sweep, where each competitor uses a single oar, and sculling, where rowers have two oars.

Boat crews range from single-seater to teams of eight and there are two lightweight events, where the weight of contestants is restricted.

The eight-person crews have a cox, who steers the boat and directs the crew. All the other events are coxless, with rowers responsible for steering their own boat.

Races will take place in six lanes over a straight 2,000m course at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium. Located on the outskirts of eastern Paris, the venue was completed in 2019 and can accommodate up to 24,000 spectators.

How do repechages work in Olympic rowing?

Some rowers will advance directly to the semi-finals or finals from their heats, while some will get a second chance to qualify via the repechage round.

How good are Great Britain at rowing?

Great Britain are third behind the United States and East Germany in the all-time Olympic rowing medal table, with a total of 31 golds.

Britain topped the medal table at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016 but failed to win a gold at Tokyo 2020 and finished 14th overall.

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.

Who are Britain's most successful rowers?

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

Sir Matthew Pinsent, who will be part of BBC Sport's commentary team in France, won four golds, three of them alongside Redgrave.

Dame Katherine Grainger is Britain's most-decorated female rower with a gold and four silvers from five successive Games.

Helen Glover, who is set to compete in the women's four in Paris, and partner Heather Stanning won back-to-back golds in 2012 and 2016. They were the first British women to win an Olympic rowing title when they triumphed in the women's pair in London.

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