List of world records in rowing facts for kids

In rowing, you won't find "world records" like in running or swimming. This is because the weather can change a lot, making it hard to compare times fairly. Imagine trying to row against a strong wind compared to having the wind push you along! Instead, rowers aim for "world best times" over the international race distance of 2000 meters (about 1.24 miles).

On-Water Records: Racing on the Water

Rowing speeds on the water are greatly affected by weather conditions, especially wind. Even the water temperature can play a small part. Many of the fastest times were set when the water was warm and there was a strong tailwind (wind blowing from behind). Over the years, these world-best times have also gotten faster because of cool new technology in the boats and oars. Plus, rowers themselves are training harder and getting stronger!

Because the environment plays such a big role in how fast a boat can go, the World Rowing organization keeps track of "world best times" instead of "world records." A world-best time is one recorded on a race course that has hosted major events like the World Rowing Championships, Olympic Games, or World Cup since 1980. For example, at the 2005 World Rowing Championships in Japan, many fast times were set. However, there was a very strong current in the river due to heavy rain from a typhoon. Because of this, World Rowing decided that those race results couldn't count as world-best times.

There's also a special category called lightweight rowing. This is for rowers who are a bit lighter. For men, the average weight of the crew (wearing their racing gear) can't be more than 70 kg (154 lb). No single rower can weigh more than 72.5 kg (160 lb). For women, the limits are 57 kg (126 lb) for the crew average and 59 kg (130 lb) for any single rower.

Two amazing rowers, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray, hold a record for winning 69 races in a row! That's a lot of wins!

Men's Best Times

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

Rowers also try to cover the longest distance possible. The longest distance rowed in 24 hours is 342 km (about 212.5 miles)! This amazing feat was achieved by eight Belgian rowers from a student club called VSR on October 2–3, 2014, in Ghent, Belgium.

For shorter bursts of speed, the longest distance rowed in 1 hour is 17,555 m (about 10.91 miles). This was done by the Delftse Studenten Roeiverening Proteus-Eretes during the Hour boat race on December 17, 2017.

Women's Best Times

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 Rowing Records: On the Machine

Rowers also train and compete indoors using special machines called "indoor rowers" or "ergometers." These machines let rowers practice their strokes and measure their power and speed without being on the water. These records are usually set over a standard distance of 2,000 meters.

Here are the types of indoor rowers mentioned:

• SIR – Static Indoor Rower (this is a common type of indoor rower)
• IRwS – Indoor Rower with Slides (this type moves a bit more like a boat on water)
• DIR – Dynamic Indoor Rower (this type also tries to feel more like rowing on water)

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

For lightweight men in indoor rowing, the maximum weight is 75 kg (165 lb). For lightweight women, the maximum weight is 61.5 kg (136 lb).

The most common machine used for setting indoor records is the Concept2 indoor rower. The "Split" time you see in the table is the average time it takes to complete 500 meters. You can figure this out by taking the total 2000-meter time and dividing it by 4.