# Rowing at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Women's coxless pair

The women's coxless pair competition at the 1976 Summer Olympics took place at Notre Dame Island Olympic Basin, Canada. It was the first time the event was contested for women.

## Competition format

The competition consisted of two main rounds (heats and finals) as well as a repechage. The 11 boats were divided into two heats for the first round, with 6 boats in one heat and 5 boats in the other. The winner of each heat advanced directly to the "A" final (1st through 6th place). The remaining 9 boats were placed in the repechage. Two heats were held in the repechage, with 5 boats in one heat and 4 boats in the other. The top two boats in each heat of the repechage went to the "A" final as well. The remaining 5 boats (3rd, 4th, and 5th placers in the repechage heats) competed in the "B" final for 7th through 11th place.
All races were over a 1000-metre course.

## Results
### Heats
#### Heat 1

| Rank | Rowers | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Edith EckbauerThea Einöder | West Germany | 3:31.01 | QA |
| 2 | Siyka KelbechevaStoyanka Kurbatova | Bulgaria | 3:33.24 | R |
| 3 | Nataliya HorodilovaHanna Karnaushenko | Soviet Union | 3:33.91 | R |
| 4 | Sabine DähneAngelika Noack | East Germany | 3:36.26 | R |
| 5 | Małgorzata KawalskaAnna Krzemińska-Karbowiak | Poland | 3:41.05 | R |
| 6 | Lin ClarkBeryl Mitchell | Great Britain | 3:42.53 | R |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Rowers | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Elizabeth CraigTricia Smith | Canada | 3:37.53 | QA |
| 2 | Marinela Maxim Marlena Predescu-Zagoni | Romania | 3:42.18 | R |
| 3 | Oldřiška PěknáZdena Tichá | Czechoslovakia | 3:46.65 | R |
| 4 | Sue Morgan Laura Staines | United States | 3:46.76 | R |
| 5 | Judit Kéri-NovákKatalin Pál-Ribáry | Hungary | 3:57.17 | R |

### Repechage
#### Repechage heat 1

| Rank | Rowers | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Siyka KelbechevaStoyanka Kurbatova | Bulgaria | 3:48.73 | QA |
| 2 | Sabine DähneAngelika Noack | East Germany | 3:54.58 | QA |
| 3 | Oldřiška PěknáZdena Tichá | Czechoslovakia | 4:01.18 | QB |
| 4 | Lin ClarkBeryl Mitchell | Great Britain | 4:02.54 | QB |
| 5 | Judit Kéri-NovákKatalin Pál-Ribáry | Hungary | 4:06.81 | QB |

#### Repechage heat 2

| Rank | Rowers | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Nataliya HorodilovaHanna Karnaushenko | Soviet Union | 3:52.59 | QA |
| 2 | Marinela Maxim Marlena Predescu-Zagoni | Romania | 3:53.93 | QA |
| 3 | Sue Morgan Laura Staines | United States | 3:58.41 | QB |
| 4 | Małgorzata KawalskaAnna Krzemińska-Karbowiak | Poland | 4:02.20 | QB |

### Finals
#### Final B

| Rank | Rowers | Nation | Time |
| 7 | Sue Morgan Laura Staines | United States | 4:02.91 |
| 8 | Małgorzata KawalskaAnna Krzemińska-Karbowiak | Poland | 4:03.26 |
| 9 | Oldřiška PěknáZdena Tichá | Czechoslovakia | 4:05.10 |
| 10 | Lin ClarkBeryl Mitchell | Great Britain | 4:07.99 |
| 11 | Judit Kéri-NovákKatalin Pál-Ribáry | Hungary | 4:11.93 |

#### Final A

| Rank | Rowers | Nation | Time |
| | Siyka KelbechevaStoyanka Kurbatova | Bulgaria | 4:01.22 |
| | Sabine DähneAngelika Noack | East Germany | 4:01.64 |
| | Edith EckbauerThea Einöder | West Germany | 4:02.35 |
| 4 | Nataliya HorodilovaHanna Karnaushenko | Soviet Union | 4:03.27 |
| 5 | Elizabeth CraigTricia Smith | Canada | 4:08.09 |
| 6 | Marinela Maxim Marlena Predescu-Zagoni | Romania | 4:15.44 |

## Final classification

| Rank | Rowers | Country |
| | Siyka Kelbecheva Stoyanka Gruycheva | Bulgaria |
| | Angelika Noack Sabine Dähne | East Germany |
| | Edith Eckbauer Thea Einöder | West Germany |
| 4 | Nataliya Horodilova Hanna Karnaushenko | Soviet Union |
| 5 | Tricia Smith Betty Craig | Canada |
| 6 | Marlena Predescu-Zagoni Marinela Maxim | Romania |
| 7 | Sue Morgan Laura Staines | United States |
| 8 | Anna Krzemińska-Karbowiak Małgorzata Kawalska | Poland |
| 9 | Oldřiška Pěkná Zdena Tichá | Czechoslovakia |
| 10 | Lin Clark Beryl Mitchell | Great Britain |
| 11 | Katalin Pál-Ribáry Judit Kéri-Novák | Hungary |