From single sculls to the powerful eights, the strategy is to sprint for the first 500 metres, maintain a gruelling pace in the middle 1,000 and then sprint for the final 500 metres. Crews have a stroke rate of about 40 strokes per minute over the middle 1,000 metres, but that s increased to about 47 during the first and last 500 metres. The Olympic Games added women's rowing competition in 1976, and women now compete in six of the 14 medal events, covering the same distance as the men 2,000 metres. The races are divided into sculling and sweep oar, with heavyweight and lightweight divisions. A rower has one oar in sweep rowing, an oar in each hand in sculling.
Boats have one, two, four or eight rowers.
The eights have a cox, who steers the boat and directs the crew. In all other boats, one rower steers by controlling a small rudder with a foot pedal. Men and women each compete in single, double and quadruple sculls, lightweight double scull, the eight and coxless pair. Men also race in coxless fours and lightweight coxless fours. All boats race in heats, with the top finishers advancing directly to the semifinals or the six-boat final.