Rowing: Never Lost the Game!

Rowing is a sport that involves using a wooden paddle, known as an oar, to propel a long boat through water at high speeds in order to win a race.
Rowing is one of the oldest and most prestigious sports on the planet, with evidence suggesting the first rowing races may have occurred as long ago as the Egyptian era. Oxford and Cambridge University organised a competitive rowing race in 1828, and the two education facilities still compete against one another to this day.
Rowing has featured at almost every edition of the Summer Olympics since the games first began. Only the 1896 tournament did not include any rowing competitions, with extreme weather conditions forcing organisers to pull water sports from the schedule. Male rowing events have been in place since 1900, and female rowing competitions were introduced much later in 1976.
The United States of America are by far the most successful overall nation in Olympic rowing, having amassed a whopping 89 medals so far. However, East Germany were excellent challengers during their time (managing to secure 33 golds, a record which the USA have only matched very recently) and Great Britain have performed terrifically during the past decade, topping the Olympic games rowing medal table on three successive occasions.
The greatest male rower of all time is widely considered to be Britain’s Sir Steve Redgrave, with Elisabeta Lipa of Romania often regarded as the best female rower. Both have picked up five gold medals each.
The objective of rowing is simple: the boat that reaches the finish line first is declared the winner of the race. Reaching the finish line in the quickest possible time requires an astonishing amount of physical and mental strength, high levels of stamina and seamless synchronisation when competing in team events.
The winner of a rowing race is the individual or team that reaches the finish line first. In the modern Olympics, all races are held over 2000 metres, including men’s and women’s events. In order to win a rowing competition outright, an athlete/team must advance through a series of “heats” in order to progress through the tournament. The first three boats to cross the finish line in the final will receive the gold, silver and bronze medals.

By: Saksham Gupta