Olympic Games 2024 Rowing
Origin
Rowing originally served as a means of transport in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, but it was only in England between the end of the 17th and the start of the 18th centuries that it became a sport.
The first major rowing competition was the country’s now-annual Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race which began in 1829.
Brief Overview Of The Rules
Rowing involves propelling a boat using oars fixed to the vessel. It differs from other disciplines in that rowers sit with their backs to the direction of movement, therefore crossing the finish line backwards. Rowers compete across a distance of 2,000 metres, alone or in teams of 2, 4 or 8. There are two different disciplines: double scull and sweep rowing. In sweep events, rowers hold a single oar with both hands, while in sculling they hold one oar in each hand. The eight-person crews have a coxswain, who steers the boat and directs the crew. The boat is steered using a small rudder that is attached to the foot of one of the rowers by a cable. There are two lightweight rowing events.
Olympic History
Rowing events have been staged at every Games since the first modern Olympiad in Athens in 1896 (men’s events). However, because the competition was scheduled to take place at sea, it had to be cancelled that year due to bad weather. Women’s events were only officially included in the Olympic program much later, at the Games of Montréal in 1976. The USA initially dominated Olympic rowing, before the Soviet Union and Germany came to the forefront. Six-time Olympians Sir Steve Redgrave (five golds, one bronze) and Elisabeta OleniucLipă (five golds, two silvers, one bronze) are widely hailed as the greatest Olympic male and female rowers of all time.
Venue
The Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium (which is 39kms from the Olympic and Paralympic Village) will host the Olympic rowing and canoe-kayak events, and the Paralympic Para rowing and Para canoe-kayak events at the Vaires-Torcy leisure complex.
Designed by architects Auer+Weber+Assoziierte, the complex is structured around three core features of the Vaires-Torcy leisure base: the lake, the white-water stadium and the living area, which includes the new buildings with a landscaped roof that can be accessed for walks. The 4,400 sqm sports centre is comprised of the new white-water stadium and its two courses over 300 and 150 metres; the 2,200m rowing and sprint canoe-kayak course, equipped with a finishing tower; a sports medicine centre; a weight-training centre; various administrative spaces; a media centre; and a training and accommodation centre.
This outstanding hub will bring together the representative bodies of these water sports and welcome athletes of all levels; for canoeing-kayaking, it is already home to the headquarters of the French Federation and its regional committee, as well as its national and youth hubs; and for rowing, it will be home to the Île-de-France Rowing League and its youth hub, as well as the French Rowing Federation’s logistics platform. The overall complex is an international centre of excellence for sport. Along with Beijing and Sydney, it is one of three sites in the world with the facilities needed to host Olympic and Paralympic canoe-kayak and rowing events.
This major project, the only one of its kind in Europe, meets the demand for leisure facilities serving communities in the Paris region while satisfying the standards of excellence required for high-level athletes. Integrated within a 150-hectare site with remarkable landscaping (including 450 trees that have been planted to provide a space where Paris region communities can enjoy somewhere to breathe in an urban setting), the new facilities have been developed in line with a high environmental quality (HQE) approach, successfully protecting and showcasing this site.
Source https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/sports/rowing
Online Schedule Olympic Rowing https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/schedule/rowing
