After a spectacular 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, the world will head west to London for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The 2012 rowing events will feature fierce competition as usual. 550 rowers will compete in 14 events, 8 for men and 6 for women. The rowing events will take place from Saturday July 28th to Sunday August 4th, 2012.
The United States which won women and men’s medals in the hallmark rowing event in Beijing, theeights with coxswain, are expected to post strong performances this year. The women will look to defend their surprise Gold Medal finish in Beijing. The men seek to best their Bronze Medal finish from 2008.
The 2012 Summer Olympics Rowing Venue
The 2012 London Olympics Rowing events will take place at Eton Dorney, which is the Eton College Rowing Centre at Dorney Lake near Windsor Castle. Eton Dorney has hosted some high profile Rowing events in the past such as the Rowing World Cup in 2005, the Rowing World Championships in 2006, and the Junior Rowing World Championships in 2007. Lake Dorney will also be used for the Canoe Spring events.The 2012 London Olympic Rowing - Sculling Events
Sculling is a type of rowing where each rower will be holding and maneuvering two oars, one in each hand. The boats paddled in the sculling events are known as sculls. The sculling events are often shown with a number which represents the number of rowers and the letter "x." There are 4 men's and 4 women's sculling events in Olympic Rowing. Here is a list of the 2012 London Olympics Sculling events.Men’s Olympic Rowing Sculling Events
- Single Sculls (1x) (past winners)
- Double Sculls (2x) (past winners)
- Lightweight Double Sculls (2x) (past winners)
- Quadruple Sculls Without Coxswain (4x) (past winners)
- Single Sculls (1x) (past winners)
- Double Sculls (2x) (past winners)
- Lightweight Double Sculls (2x) (past winners)
- Quadruple Sculls without Coxswain (4x) (past winners)
The 2012 London Olympic Rowing - Sweep Oar Events
Sweep oar is a type of rowing where each member of the crew (except the coxswain) holds and rows with only one oar. That means for every person rowing with an oar on the right side of the sweep oar boat there must also be a member with an oar on the left side of the boat. Some sweep oar events have what is known as a coxswain or cox. The coxswain sits in the back of the sweep oar boat , faces the direction of travel, and steers the boat and directs the rest of the crew.
Sweep oar rowing events are distinguished with a number and a symbol. The number tells how many crew members are rowing. The symbol in the event name is either a “-“ meaning there is no coxswain in the boat or a “+” distinguishes the events that do have a coxswain. The 4 men's sweep oar rowing events will either say men's or have an "M" next to the event name. The women's events will have a "W."
Men’s Olympic Rowing – Sweep Oar Events
- Coxless Pair (2-) (past winners)
- Four without Coxswain (4-) (past winners)
- Lightweight Coxless Four (4-) (past winners)
- Eight with Coxswain (8+) (past winners)
Women’s Olympic Rowing – Sweep Oar Events
- Pair without Coxswain (2-) (past winners)
- Eights with Coxswain (8+) (past winners)
