List of world records in rowing facts for kids
In rowing there are not world records due to the huge variability that weather conditions can have on times. Instead there are world best times, which are set over the international rowing distance of 2000 m.
Contents
On-water records
Rowing times are strongly affected by weather conditions, and to a lesser extent by water temperature – the majority of these times were set in warm water with a strong tailwind. World-best rowing times have also decreased because of improvements in technology to both the boats and the oars, along with improvements in the conditioning of the rowers.
Because environmental conditions have a strong impact on boat speed, World Rowing recognizes world-best times instead of world records. A world-best time is one recorded on a regatta course that has previously held the World Championships, Olympic Games, or World Cup since 1980. A number of record times were set at the 2005 World Rowing Championships held on the Nagara River at Kaizu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, but due to a fast current caused by heavy rainfall from the remnants of Typhoon Mawar, World Rowing declared that the race results were not eligible to be considered as world-best times.
There is a category for lightweight rowing. For men, the crew average, wearing racing kit, cannot exceed 70 kg (154 lb) and no rower may be over 72.5 kg (160 lb). For women, the limits are 57 kg (126 lb) and 59 kg (130 lb).
Hamish Bond and Eric Murray hold the record for most consecutive wins with 69.
Men
| Boat | Time | Crew | Nation | Date | Event | Location | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1x Single sculls |
6:30.74 | Robbie Manson |  New Zealand |
2017 | Final World Cup II |
Poznan, Poland | |
| M2- Coxless pairs |
6:08.50 | Hamish Bond Eric Murray |
New Zealand |
2012 | Heat 1 Olympic Games |
Eton Dorney, United Kingdom | |
| M2+ Coxed pairs |
6:33.26 | Hamish Bond Eric Murray Caleb Shepherd (cox) |
New Zealand |
2014 | Final World Championships |
Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| M2x Double sculls |
5:59.72 | Martin Sinković Valent Sinković |
 Croatia |
2014 | Semi-final World Championships |
Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| M4- Coxless four |
5:37.86 | Andrew Triggs Hodge Tom James Pete Reed Alex Gregory |
 Great Britain |
2012 | Heat 1 World Cup II |
Lucerne, Switzerland | |
| M4+ Coxed four |
5:58.96 | Matthias Ungemach Armin Eichholz Armin Weyrauch Bahne Rabe Jörg Dederding (cox) |
 Germany |
1991 | Final World Championships |
Vienna, Austria | |
| M4x Quad sculls |
5:32.03 | Dirk Uittenbogaard Abe Wiersma Tone Wieten Koen Metsemakers |
 Netherlands |
28 July 2021 | Final Olympic Games |
Tokyo, Japan | |
| M8+ Eight |
5:18.68 | Johannes Weißenfeld Felix Wimberger Max Planer Torben Johannesen Jakob Schneider Malte Jakschik Richard Schmidt Hannes Ocik Martin Sauer (cox) |
Germany |
2017 | Final World Cup II |
Poznan, Poland | |
| LM1x Lightweight single sculls |
6:41.03 | Jason Osborne | Germany |
2018 | Heat World Championships |
Plovdiv, Bulgaria | |
| LM2- Lightweight coxless pairs |
6:22.91 | Simon Niepmann Lucas Tramèr |
 Switzerland |
2014 | Final World Championships |
Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| LM2x Lightweight double sculls |
6:05.33 | Fintan McCarthy Paul O'Donovan |
 Ireland |
28 July 2021 | Semi-final Olympic Games |
Tokyo, Japan | |
| LM4- Lightweight coxless four |
5:43.16 | Kasper Winther Jørgensen Jacob Larsen Jacob Barsøe Morten Jørgensen |
 Denmark |
2014 | Semi-final World Championships |
Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| LM4x Lightweight quad sculls |
5:42.75 | Georgios Konsolas Spyridon Giannaros Panagiotis Magdanis Eleftherios Konsolas |
 Greece |
2014 | Final World Championships |
Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| LM8+ Lightweight eight |
5:30.24 | Klaus Altena Christian Dahlke Thomas Melges Bernhard Stomporowski Michael Kobor Uwe Maerz Michael Buchheit Kai von Warburg Olaf Kaska (cox) |
Germany |
1992 | Heat World Championships |
Montreal, Canada |
The greatest distance rowed in 24 hours is 342 km (212.5 miles) by Hannes Obreno, Pierre de Loof, Tim Brys, Mathieu Foucaud, Thijs Obreno, Giel Vanschoenbeek, Arjan van Belle and Thibaut Schollaert (all Belgians) on the Watersportbaan in Ghent, Belgium, on 2–3 October 2014. All eight participants were members of a student rowing club called VSR (Vlaamse Studentenvereniging der Roeiers [translates to Flanders Student Rowing Club]).
The greatest distance rowed in 1 hour is 17,555 m (10.91 miles) by the Delftse Studenten Roeiverening Proteus-Eretes during the Hour boat race on 17 December 2017.
Women
| Boat | Time | Crew | Nation | Date | Event | Location | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W1x Single sculls |
7:07.71 | Rumyana Neykova |  Bulgaria |
2002 | Final World Championships |
Seville, Spain | |
| W2- Coxless pairs |
6:47.11 | Annabelle McIntyre Jessica Morrison |
 Australia |
24 June 2023 | Final
Holland Beker Regatta |
Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| W2x Double sculls |
6:37.31 | Olympia Aldersey Sally Kehoe |
Australia |
2014 | Semi-final World Championships |
Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| W4- Coxless four |
6:14.36 | Grace Prendergast Kayla Pratt Kerri Gowler Kelsey Bevan |
New Zealand |
2014 | Final World Championships |
Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| W4x Quad sculls |
6:05.13 | Chen Yunxia Zhang Ling Lü Yang Cui Xiaotong |
 China |
28 July 2021 | Final Olympic Games |
Tokyo, Japan | |
| W8+ Eight |
5:52.99 | Magdalena Rusu Viviana Bejinariu Georgiana Dedu Maria Tivodariu Ioana Vrinceanu Amalia Beres Madalina Beres Denisa Tilvescu Daniela Druncea (cox) |
 Romania |
28 July 2021 | Repechage Olympic Games |
Tokyo, Japan | |
| LW1x Lightweight single sculls |
7:23.36 | Imogen Grant | Great Britain |
9 July 2022 | Final World Cup III |
Lucerne, Switzerland | |
| LW2- Lightweight coxless pairs |
7:18.32 | Eliza Blair Justine Joyce |
Australia |
1997 | Final World Championships |
Lac d'Aiguebelette, France | |
| LW2x Lightweight double sculls |
6:40.47 | Emily Craig Imogen Grant |
Great Britain |
17 June 2023 | Semi Final World Cup II |
Varese, Italy | |
| LW4x Lightweight quadruple sculls |
6:15.95 | Mirte Kraaijkamp Elisabeth Woerner Maaike Head Ilse Paulis |
Netherlands |
2014 | Final World Championships |
Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Indoor records
These results are based on a standard distance of 2,000 meters.
- SIR – Static Indoor Rower (Indoor Rower)
- IRwS – Indoor Rower with Slides (Slides)
- DIR – Dynamic Indoor Rower (Dynamic)
| Type | Category | Time | Split | Nation | Year | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SIR | Open Men | 5:35.8 | 1:23.9 | Australia |
2018 | Josh Dunkley-Smith |
| SIR | Lightweight Men | 5:56.7 | 1:29.2 | Denmark |
2012 | Henrik Stephansen |
| SIR | Open Women | 6:21.1 | 1:35.3 |  United States |
2021 | Brooke Mooney |
| SIR | Lightweight Women | 6:53.8 | 1:43.4 |  Canada |
2019 | Jennifer Casson |
| IRwS | Open Men | 5:41.8 | United States |
2022 | Jacob Plihal | |
| IRwS | Lightweight Men | 6:06.0 | United States |
2023 | Jamie Copus | |
| IRwS | Open Women | 6:46.8 | United States |
2006 | Taliesin Davies | |
| IRwS | Lightweight Women | 7:29.7 | United States |
2008 | Lynn Bender | |
| DIR | Open Men | 5:41.8 | New Zealand |
2012 | Eric Murray | |
| 5:25.5 | Germany |
2023 | Oliver Zeidler | |||
| DIR | Lightweight Men | 6:15.6 | Great Britain |
2017 | Tom Foster | |
| DIR | Open Women | 8:00.6 | United States |
2015 | Karen Alt | |
| DIR | Lightweight Women | 8:10.4 | United States |
2013 | Elizabeth Sheldon |
- Lwt Men: 75 kg (165 lb) maximum weight
- Lwt Women: 61.5 kg (136 lb) maximum weight
Note: the standard machine for indoor records is the Concept2 indoor rower. "Split" refers to the average time to complete 500 m (i.e. the 2000 m time divided by 4).
