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OLYMPICTIONARY
Rowing is a race that takes place in a boat. The athletes who participate in this event are called rowers. There are many different kids of rowing events at the Olympics. Boats can have one, two, four, or eight people rowing. The race for eight rowers also has a coach in the boat called a "coxswain", or "cox," for short, who steers the boat and encourages the rowers.
Rowers use long, smooth boats, and they race in straight lines on flat water. If you watch a race, you will see that rowers actually sit backwards. There are two kinds of boats used, each with the oars attached to the sides of the boat: The first kind of boat is called a "scull", and each rower uses two oars. The second type is called a "sweep", and this boat only has one oar per person.
Ones to Watch: Keep an eye out for Steve Redgrave of Great Britain, who is considered by some to be the greatest rower ever. Also watch Australia, which won the most medals in the 1996 Olympic race. But the United States, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, and Switzerland all have strong rowing teams too.
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