At London Olympics 2012, rowing competition will be exhibited on the extravagant world-class waters at Eton Dorney. The sport is scheduled from Saturday 28 July till Saturday 4 August, 2012. There will be 14 medal events and 550 rowers (353 men, 197 women) will participate in the game. Rowing as a sport induces a lot of resilience and power in the rowers in order to push through the waters with the endeavor to win the Olympic gold! Rowing is the only sport in Olympics where competitors cross the finish line backwards. Boats usually start off swiftly, and then settle into their maximum sustainable pace, before racing towards the finish line in the end. The rower leading from front has the privilege to keep an eye on his/her competitors. The Olympic Rowing events, both with heavyweight and lightweight, are of two types: Sweep (where the rowers use a single oar and participate in crews of two, four or eight) and Sculling (where the rowers use two oars and paddle it alone, in doubles or in quads).
Rowing Rules And Regulations
Do you know that the beautiful sport of paddling has one of the oldest histories of any Olympic sport? This article will familiarize you with the rules and regulations of Rowing.
Rowing
- During Olympics, boats will race in six lanes along a 2,000m (6,562 feet) flat-water course, and the first one crossing the finish line wins.
- All Rowing events at London 2012 will begin with the heats, from which the best boats will enter the next round. Boats that do not qualify automatically from the heats get a second opportunity to qualify through the “repechage" round. The most outstanding boats eventually progress through the various stages and paddles into the finals of each event, which will decide the medalists.
- Rowing boats come with or without a cox, who directs the boat and coordinates the power and tempo of the rowers.
- The lightweight events consist of the lightweight women's double and the lightweight men's double and four. The average weight of members of a men's crew cannot exceed 70 kilograms (154 pounds) and for women, the average weight of each crew member must not cross 57 kilograms (125.4 pounds).
- Size does matter in rowing! In 2007, Dr Niels Secher, an exercise scientist at the University of Copenhagen, after an extensive research concluded that taller (often over 6ft 3in), more muscular rowers (15st) with little body fat have more chances of winning the game as were able to intake more oxygen in their muscles and generate more power!
Rowing History
Rowing has always been there! It is just that only in the last 200 years, it has been acknowledged as a spirited sport. Rowing was introduced with the rivalry at Oxford and Cambridge Universities on the Thames in 1829, and is seen today in the form of Annual boat races! Though rowing was also supposed to be a part of the Olympics Games in 1896, but was terminated due to bad weather. Since Paris Olympics 1900, rowing has been showcased in every Olympic Games. The youngest Olympic winner is supposed to be a mysterious French boy who coxed for a Dutch pair at the inaugural competition. The boy was hardly 12 years old and he also took part in the victory ceremony but then nowhere to be found. And interestingly, the oldest Olympic Rowing champion is Great Britain's "Guy Nickalls", who was 41 when hez won gold at London Olympics 1908. Women's rowing Games came into picture at Montreal Olympics 1976. Lightweight rowing for men and women started at Atlanta Olympics 1996.
Rowing has always been there! It is just that only in the last 200 years, it has been acknowledged as a spirited sport. Rowing was introduced with the rivalry at Oxford and Cambridge Universities on the Thames in 1829, and is seen today in the form of Annual boat races! Though rowing was also supposed to be a part of the Olympics Games in 1896, but was terminated due to bad weather. Since Paris Olympics 1900, rowing has been showcased in every Olympic Games. The youngest Olympic winner is supposed to be a mysterious French boy who coxed for a Dutch pair at the inaugural competition. The boy was hardly 12 years old and he also took part in the victory ceremony but then nowhere to be found. And interestingly, the oldest Olympic Rowing champion is Great Britain's "Guy Nickalls", who was 41 when hez won gold at London Olympics 1908. Women's rowing Games came into picture at Montreal Olympics 1976. Lightweight rowing for men and women started at Atlanta Olympics 1996.