ELITE ROWING

Elite rowers are high performance athletes who compete at national and international level.

An elite rower can start competing as a junior (under 18) at national and international championships. To become a junior world champion, a junior rower must win a gold medal in his/her boat class at the World Rowing Junior Championships.

Reaching full potential as an elite rower takes years of hard training, and it is usually the athletes with longer experience who achieve the best results - rowing's most successful rower ever, Sir Steve Redgrave, obtained his fifth Olympic gold medal at 38 years of age. This is why the International Rowing Federation (FISA) has established a World Rowing Championship for Under 23 rowers, allowing them to further develop physically and technically to become competitive at senior level.

An elite rower works hard to become a world champion. The World Rowing Championships are held every non-Olympic year, and world champions are crowned in 14 men's events and 9 women's events.

The ultimate goal of a rowing athlete is to become an Olympic champion. The Olympic Regatta is held every four years during the Olympic Games.

Athlete Biographies

The biographies and results of all athletes who have competed at a World Rowing event, whether at junior, under-23 or senior level, can be found in World Rowing's official  database RowingOne. 

Top Athletes

Click on the links below to discover more about some of the world's top rowers.
(Note: These article have been published in World Rowing Magazine & World Rowing e-Magazine.)

Athletes of the Month

Experience what is going on inside the mind of elite athletes. Click here to discover all athletes who have been featured as "World Rowing Athlete of the Month".