Rowing at 2008 Summer Games: Rowing is a water sport. It is a speed and endurance sport, which involves rowing in narrow boats. The history of rowing can be traced back to the thirteenth century. However, the event was popularized in the eighteenth century. The boats used in the rowing competition are called "shells" or "fine boats". In the rowing competitions, the boats are rowed in a disciplined manner. The athlete sits on a sliding seat with face backwards and uses oars to move the boat. The two most common forms of rowing are sweep-oar rowing and sculling. In sweep-oar rowing, rowers hold one oar each with both hands. In sculling, each rower has two oars, one in each hand. Rowing has always been dominated by men in the long history of the sport. Women started to participate in the event much later in the twentieth century. The Federation Internationale des Societes d'Aviron or the FISA is the governing body fro rowing at the international level.
Rowing in the Summer Games: Rowing was introduced to the Olympic schedule at the 1900 Paris Summer Games. Only men were allowed to participate in the Olympics rowing competition till the 1976 Games. Women's rowing events were included in the Olympic rowing program in the 1976 Montreal Summer Games. At the current Olympics, 14 events are held in the rowing competition. At present, the events contested at the rowing competition are-
Rules of Rowing: The Federation Internationale des Societes d'Aviron or the FISA sets rules for rowing at the international level. Some of the rules followed during the rowing competitions are-
Medal winners in Rowing: France, Slovenia, Italy, the United States of America, Great Britain, Australia, Germany, Romania and Netherlands are the leading nations in the field of rowing at the international level. Some of the famous rowers of the world are Sr. John B. Kelly, Olaf Karl Tufte, Ivo Yanakiev, Kathrin Boron , Georgina Evers-Swindell , Caroline Evers-Swindell , Katherine Grainger , Silken Laumann , Marnie McBean , Kathleen Heddle , Elisabeta Lipa , Bobby Pearce , Vyacheslav Nikolayevich Ivanov , Pertti Karppinen , Thomas Lange Ekaterina Karsten, Katrin Rutschow-Stomporowski and Rumyana Neykova.
