ROWING AT THE 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS

Rowing
at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Rowing; at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
	Rowing pictogram for the 2020 Summer Olympics
Venue	Sea Forest Waterway
Dates	23–30 July 2021
No. of events	14
Competitors	526 from 79 nations
	← 2016 2024 →

The rowing competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place between 23 and 30 July 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway ( Central Breakwater) in Tokyo Bay. Fourteen medal events were contested by 526 athletes (263 men and women each).^[1]

Competition format

The rowing programme featured a total of fourteen events, seven each for both men and women in identical boat classes. This gender equality was suggested by the World Rowing Federation at its February 2017 congress, with the recommendation adopted by the International Olympic Committee in June 2017. This balancing was achieved by deleting the men's lightweight four and adding the women's coxless four boat classes. The women's coxless four previously ran at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics; the only time this boat class was an Olympic event. The changes to the Olympic rowing schedule were the first since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.^[2]

Events for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics included both disciplines of rowing: sweep rowing, where competitors each use a single oar, and sculling, where they use two placed on opposite sides of the boat. There was also one lightweight (weight restricted) event for each gender: the lightweight double sculls. Sculling events include men's and women's singles, doubles, lightweight doubles, and quads. Sweep events included men's and women's coxless pairs, coxless fours, and eights.^[1]

Regatta venue

The event took at the Sea Forest Waterway, a new venue constructed specifically for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The water is about 6 metres deep. The course is 2335 meters long and 198 meters wide. Each lane is 12.5 m wide. There were 8 lanes.^[3]

Qualification

A total of 526 quota spots were available. Each qualified nation entered one boat for each of the fourteen events. The majority of the berths were awarded based on the results at the 2019 World Rowing Championships, held in Ottensheim, Austria from 25 August to 1 September 2019.^[4] Places were awarded to National Olympic Committees, not to specific athletes, finishing in the top 9 in the single sculls (both men and women), top 5 in the eights, top 8 in the fours and quadruple sculls, top 7 in the lightweight double sculls, and top 11 each in the pairs and double sculls.^[5] Further berths were distributed to the nations (and in this case to specific competitors) at four continental qualifying regattas in Asia and Oceania, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, and at a final Olympic qualification regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Competition schedule

Legend
H	Heats	R	Repechage	¼	Quarterfinals	½	Semifinals	F	Final

Men's and women's races held on the same days^[6]^[7]^[8]
Event↓/Date →	Fri 23	Sat 24	Sun 25	Wed 28	Thu 29	Fri 30
Men's single sculls Women's single sculls	H	R	¼/½		½	F
Men's pair Women's pair		H	R	½	F
Men's double sculls Women's double sculls	H	R	½	F
Men's lightweight double sculls Women's lightweight double sculls		H	R	½	F
Men's four Women's four		H	R	F
Men's quadruple sculls Women's quadruple sculls	H		R	F
Men's eight Women's eight		H		R		F

On 23 July, World Rowing announced changes to the schedule due to forecasted inclement weather for 26 July. All racing originally scheduled for 26 July was moved to 25 July. The eights heats were also moved from 25 to 24 July to accommodate the new schedule.^[9] Further revisions were made on 25 July, cancelling racing on 27 July due to Tropical Storm Nepartak hitting parts of Japan.^[10]

Participation

Events by number of boats entered

Each event has the same number of boats entered for men and women.

Event	Number of boats per gender
Single sculls	32
Pair	13
Double sculls	13
Lightweight double sculls	18
Coxless four	10
Quadruple sculls	10
Eight	7

Participating nations (number of rowers)

Algeria (2)
Argentina (2)
Australia (40)
Austria (3)
Belarus (5)
Belgium (2)
Benin (1)
Bermuda (1)
Brazil (1)
Canada (29)
Chile (2)
China (28)
Ivory Coast (1)
Croatia (3)
Cuba (1)
Czech Republic (7)
Denmark (9)
Dominican Republic (1)
Egypt (1)
Estonia (4)
France (12)
Germany (24)
Great Britain (41)
Greece (4)
Guatemala (2)
Hong Kong (1)
Hungary (1)
India (2)
Indonesia (2)
Iran (1)
Iraq (1)
Ireland (13)
Italy (23)
Japan (3)
Kazakhstan (1)
Kuwait (1)
Libya (1)
Lithuania (9)
Mexico (1)
Monaco (1)
Morocco (1)
Namibia (1)
Netherlands (35)
New Zealand (32)
Nicaragua (2)
Nigeria (1)
Norway (7)
Paraguay (1)
Peru (1)
Philippines (1)
Poland (20)
Portugal (2)
Puerto Rico (1)
Qatar (1)
Romania (36)
ROC (10)
Saudi Arabia (1)
Serbia (3)
Singapore (1)
South Africa (6)
South Korea (1)
Spain (6)
Sudan (1)
Sweden (1)
Switzerland (9)
Chinese Taipei (1)
Thailand (2)
Togo (1)
Trinidad and Tobago (1)
Tunisia (2)
Turkey (1)
Uganda (1)
Ukraine (2)
United States (37)
Uruguay (2)
Uzbekistan (2)
Vanuatu (1)
Venezuela (2)
Vietnam (2)
Zimbabwe (1)

Medalists

Medal table


Rank	NOC	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	New Zealand	3	2	0	5
2	Australia	2	0	2	4
3	Netherlands	1	2	2	5
4	Romania	1	2	0	3
5	France	1	1	0	2
6	China	1	0	2	3
6	Italy	1	0	2	3
8	Canada	1	0	1	2
	Croatia	1	0	1	2
	Ireland	1	0	1	2
11	Greece	1	0	0	1
12	Germany	0	2	0	2
12	ROC	0	2	0	2
14	Great Britain	0	1	1	2
15	Norway	0	1	0	1
15	Poland	0	1	0	1
17	Austria	0	0	1	1
17	Denmark	0	0	1	1
Totals (18 entries)		14	14	14	42

Men’s

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Single sculls details	Stefanos Ntouskos Greece	Kjetil Borch Norway	Damir Martin Croatia
Double sculls details	France (FRA) Hugo Boucheron Matthieu Androdias	Netherlands (NED) Melvin Twellaar Stef Broenink	China (CHN) Liu Zhiyu Zhang Liang
Quadruple sculls details	Netherlands (NED) Dirk Uittenbogaard Abe Wiersma Tone Wieten Koen Metsemakers	Great Britain (GBR) Harry Leask Angus Groom Tom Barras Jack Beaumont	Australia (AUS) Jack Cleary Caleb Antill Cameron Girdlestone Luke Letcher
Coxless pair details	Croatia (CRO) Martin Sinković Valent Sinković	Romania (ROU) Marius Cozmiuc Ciprian Tudosă	Denmark (DEN) Frederic Vystavel Joachim Sutton
Coxless four details	Australia (AUS) Alexander Purnell Spencer Turrin Jack Hargreaves Alexander Hill	Romania (ROU) Mihăiță Țigănescu Mugurel Semciuc Ștefan Berariu Cosmin Pascari	Italy (ITA) Matteo Castaldo Marco Di Costanzo Matteo Lodo Giuseppe Vicino Bruno Rosetti^[a]
Coxed eight details	New Zealand (NZL) Tom Mackintosh Hamish Bond Tom Murray Michael Brake Dan Williamson Phillip Wilson Shaun Kirkham Matt Macdonald Sam Bosworth c	Germany (GER) Johannes Weißenfeld Laurits Follert Olaf Roggensack Torben Johannesen Jakob Schneider Malte Jakschik Richard Schmidt Hannes Ocik Martin Sauer c	Great Britain (GBR) Josh Bugajski Jacob Dawson Thomas George Moe Sbihi Charles Elwes Oliver Wynne-Griffith James Rudkin Thomas Ford Henry Fieldman c
Lightweight double sculls details	Ireland (IRL) Fintan McCarthy Paul O'Donovan	Germany (GER) Jonathan Rommelmann Jason Osborne	Italy (ITA) Stefano Oppo Pietro Ruta

Women’s

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Single sculls details	Emma Twigg New Zealand	Hanna Prakatsen ROC	Magdalena Lobnig Austria
Double sculls details	Romania (ROU) Nicoleta-Ancuța Bodnar Simona Radiș	New Zealand (NZL) Brooke Donoghue Hannah Osborne	Netherlands (NED) Roos de Jong Lisa Scheenaard
Quadruple sculls details	China (CHN) Chen Yunxia Zhang Ling Lü Yang Cui Xiaotong	Poland (POL) Agnieszka Kobus Marta Wieliczko Maria Sajdak Katarzyna Zillmann	Australia (AUS) Ria Thompson Rowena Meredith Harriet Hudson Caitlin Cronin
Coxless pair details	New Zealand (NZL) Grace Prendergast Kerri Gowler	ROC Vasilisa Stepanova Elena Oriabinskaia	Canada (CAN) Caileigh Filmer Hillary Janssens
Coxless four details	Australia (AUS) Lucy Stephan Rosemary Popa Jessica Morrison Annabelle McIntyre	Netherlands (NED) Ellen Hogerwerf Karolien Florijn Ymkje Clevering Veronique Meester	Ireland (IRL) Aifric Keogh Eimear Lambe Fiona Murtagh Emily Hegarty
Coxed eight details	Canada (CAN) Susanne Grainger Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski Madison Mailey Sydney Payne Andrea Proske Lisa Roman Christine Roper Avalon Wasteneys Kristen Kit c	New Zealand (NZL) Ella Greenslade Emma Dyke Lucy Spoors Kelsey Bevan Grace Prendergast Kerri Gowler Beth Ross Jackie Gowler Caleb Shepherd c	China (CHN) Guo Linlin Ju Rui Li Jingjing Miao Tian Wang Zifeng Wang Yuwei Xu Fei Zhang Min Zhang Dechang c
Lightweight double sculls details	Italy (ITA) Valentina Rodini Federica Cesarini	France (FRA) Laura Tarantola Claire Bové	Netherlands (NED) Marieke Keijser Ilse Paulis

Records

Event	Round	Name	Nation	Time	Date	Record
Men's double sculls	Heats	Melvin Twellaar Stef Broenink	Netherlands	6:08.38	24 July	OR^[11]
Women's coxless four	Heats	Lucy Stephan Rosemary Popa Jessica Morrison Annabelle McIntyre	Australia	6:28.76	24 July	OR^[b]
Women's double sculls	Final	Nicoleta-Ancuța Bodnar Simona Radiș	Romania	6:41.03	28 July	OR
Men's double sculls	Final	Hugo Boucheron Matthieu Androdias	France	6:00.33	28 July	OR
Women's coxless four	Final	Lucy Stephan Rosemary Popa Jessica Morrison Annabelle McIntyre	Australia	6:15.37	28 July	OR
Men's coxless four	Final	Alexander Purnell Spencer Turrin Jack Hargreaves Alexander Hill	Australia	5:42.76	28 July	OR
Men's quadruple sculls	Final	Dirk Uittenbogaard Abe Wiersma Tone Wieten Koen Metsemakers	Netherlands	5:32.03	28 July	OR, WR
Women's quadruple sculls	Final	Chen Yunxia Zhang Ling Lü Yang Cui Xiaotong	China	6:05.13	28 July	OR, WR
Men's lightweight double sculls	Semifinal	Fintan McCarthy Paul O'Donovan	Ireland	6:05.33	28 July	OR, WR

References

Notes

^ A few hours before the A final Rosetti tested positive to Covid-2019 and was replaced by Di Costanzo. As he had rowed in the heat, he was eligible for a medal.
^ The Australian women's coxless four rowing team broke the Olympic record for the coxless four event in the Final four days later.

Citations

^ ^a ^b "Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Tokyo 2020" (PDF). IOC, FISA. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
^ "IOC confirm gender equality in rowing events for Tokyo 2020 with introduction of women's four". British Rowing. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
^ "Championships Junior Rowing World 2019" (PDF). e Organising Championships Junior Rowing World 20. 2019. p. 6. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
^ Mackay, Duncan (7 September 2018). "Linz-Ottensheim awarded 2019 World Rowing Championships". insidethegames.biz. Dunsar Media Company Limited. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
^ "Tokyo 2020 – FISA Rowing Qualification System" (PDF). FISA. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
^ "Rowing Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
^ "Rowing Regatta of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020" (PDF). www.worldrowing.com. International Rowing Federation. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
^ "Olympic Rowing Schedule Changes". row2k.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
^ "Russian archer faints in Tokyo heat". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
^ "Official Communication 3" (PDF). World Rowing. 25 July 2021.
^ "Results – Race 15" (PDF). olympics.com. 23 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.

External links

Official website
"2020 Olympic Games Regatta". worldrowing.com.
Results book Archived 12 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine

[11] A few hours before the A final Rosetti tested positive to Covid-2019 and was replaced by Di Costanzo. As he had rowed in the heat, he was eligible for a medal.

[13] The Australian women's coxless four rowing team broke the Olympic record for the coxless four event in the Final four days later.

[rowing-1] "Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Tokyo 2020" (PDF). IOC, FISA. Retrieved 29 March 2018.

[2] "IOC confirm gender equality in rowing events for Tokyo 2020 with introduction of women's four". British Rowing. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2021.

[3] "Championships Junior Rowing World 2019" (PDF). e Organising Championships Junior Rowing World 20. 2019. p. 6. Retrieved 14 August 2019.

[wch-rowing-4] Mackay, Duncan (7 September 2018). "Linz-Ottensheim awarded 2019 World Rowing Championships". insidethegames.biz. Dunsar Media Company Limited. Retrieved 29 March 2018.

[rowing-qual-5] "Tokyo 2020 – FISA Rowing Qualification System" (PDF). FISA. Retrieved 16 March 2015.

[rowingsched-6] "Rowing Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.

[rowingsched2-7] "Rowing Regatta of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020" (PDF). www.worldrowing.com. International Rowing Federation. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.

[8] "Olympic Rowing Schedule Changes". row2k.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.

[9] "Russian archer faints in Tokyo heat". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 July 2021.

[10] "Official Communication 3" (PDF). World Rowing. 25 July 2021.

[12] "Results – Race 15" (PDF). olympics.com. 23 July 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.

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v t e Rowing at the Summer Olympics
Editions	1896 1900 1904 1906 (Intercalated) 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Current events	Single sculls Double sculls Quadruple sculls Coxless pair Coxless four Eight Lightweight double sculls
Discontinued events	Coxed pair Coxed four Coxed four with inriggers Lightweight coxless four
List of medalists men women List of venues

v t e Rowing at the Summer Olympics
Editions	1896 1900 1904 1906 (Intercalated) 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Current events	Single sculls Double sculls Quadruple sculls Coxless pair Coxless four Eight Lightweight double sculls
Discontinued events	Coxed pair Coxed four Coxed four with inriggers Lightweight coxless four
List of medalists men women List of venues

Competition format

Regatta venue

Qualification

Competition schedule