European Rowing Championships facts for kids

The European Rowing Championships is a big international competition for the sport of rowing. It's organized by FISA, which is the world's rowing federation. This event is for European countries, and also includes Israel, even though it's not officially part of Europe for sports.

The championships started way back in 1893. For a long time, they were seen as almost like a world championship because many countries took part. But then, the World Rowing Championships began in 1962. After 1973, the European Championships stopped for a while because the World Championships became an annual event. They were brought back in 2007, but this time, they focused only on European nations.

History of the Championships

The very first European Rowing Championships happened in 1893. They took place every year until 1913. The events from 1914 to 1919 were cancelled because of World War I. The yearly schedule was also paused in 1928 and 1936 when the Summer Olympics were held in Europe. Rowing at the Olympics was considered the main event those years.

More championships were cancelled from 1939 to 1946 due to World War II. After the war, the event returned in 1947. It was skipped again in 1948 and 1952 because the Olympics were held in London and Helsinki.

In 1951, the European Rowing Championships hosted the first test races for international women's rowing. Women's events officially became part of the championships in 1954. However, men's and women's races were often held on different days or even in different cities.

On May 27, 2006, the FISA members decided to bring back the European Rowing Championships as a standalone event.

When the championships first started, there were only three types of races for men: single scull, coxed four, and eight. Only ten teams entered. Most races were 3,000 meters long, except for singles, which were 2,000 meters. Over the years, more types of boats were added, like the coxed pair in 1894 and the double scull in 1898.

When the championships returned in 2007, there were 14 Olympic boat classes, and all races were 2,000 meters. At first, some top European countries like Great Britain and Germany didn't always send their best rowers. But after the 2012 Summer Olympics, they started taking the event very seriously.

Now, the European Championships are a really important event in rowing. They are considered one of the top competitions, right after the Olympic Games, World Championships, and World Cup Series. In Olympic years, when there's no World Championship, the European Championships are a key test for rowers before the Olympics.

In 2015, it was announced that the 2018 European Rowing Championships would be part of a bigger event called the European Championships. This is a multi-sport event where different European sports federations hold their championships together.

Editions of the Championships

The European Rowing Championships have been held many times since 1893. The first event took place in Lake Orta, Italy, with just 3 races. Over the years, the number of races grew, and many different cities across Europe have hosted the championships.

For example, the first few championships were:

• 1893: Lake Orta, Italy (3 events)
• 1894: Mâcon, France (4 events)
• 1895: Ostend, Belgium (4 events)

The championships were paused during World War I (1914–1919) and World War II (1939–1946). They also took breaks when the Summer Olympics were held in Europe.

Since 2020, events for Para-rowers (athletes with disabilities) have also been added to the championships. The most recent championships include:

• 2020: Poznań, Poland (22 events)
• 2021: Varese, Italy (22 events)
• 2022: Oberschleißheim, Germany (23 events)
• 2023: Bled, Slovenia (21 events)
• 2024: Szeged, Hungary (21 events)
• 2025: Belgrade, Serbia (upcoming)

All-time medal table

This table shows the total number of medals won by different countries from 1893 to 2024. Alsace-Lorraine won one gold, three silvers, and nine bronzes, which are now counted with Germany's medals.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Italy	96	113	78	287
2	Soviet Union	94	39	24	157
3	Switzerland	60	42	49	151
4	France	49	82	85	216
5	Romania	48	48	46	142
6	Belgium	45	38	38	121
7	Germany	41	47	34	122
8	Great Britain	40	32	27	99
9	Netherlands	33	55	60	148
10	East Germany	30	39	18	87
11	West Germany	26	16	19	61
12	Hungary	23	18	30	71
13	Greece	21	16	4	41
14	Poland	15	34	35	84
15	Denmark	15	25	14	54
16	Ukraine	14	8	20	42
17	Czech Republic	13	10	14	37
18	Belarus	10	7	9	26
19	Croatia	9	5	6	20
20	Lithuania	8	11	7	26
21	Norway	8	4	10	22
22	Czechoslovakia	7	21	36	64
23	Russia	7	9	11	27
24	Ireland	6	6	5	17
25	Austria	5	17	10	32
26	Serbia	4	7	12	23
27	Estonia	4	3	3	10
28	Sweden	2	4	3	9
29	Finland	2	3	2	7
30	Yugoslavia	2	1	8	11
31	Spain	1	4	10	15
32	Portugal	1	3	3	7
33	Slovakia	1	2	1	4
34	Bulgaria	1	1	5	7
35	Israel	0	2	0	2
36	Azerbaijan	0	1	0	1
	Latvia	0	1	0	1
	Turkey	0	1	0	1
39	Slovenia	0	0	3	3
40	Moldova	0	0	1	1
Totals (40 entries)		741	775	740	2,256

See also

• European Rowing U23 Championships
• European Rowing U19 Championships
• In Spanish: Campeonato Europeo de Remo para niños