Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

took place at the

Sydney International Regatta Centre The Sydney International Regatta Centre (SIRC), located in Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is a Rowing at the 2000 Summer Olympics, rowing and Canoeing at the 2000 Summer Olympics, canoe sprint venue built fo ...

Penrith, New South Wales Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevati ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It featured 547 competitors (363 men and 184 women) from 51 nations taking part in 14 events. The medals were split among 20 nations.

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

was the most successful nation, topping the medal table with three golds, all won in the women's events. Despite finishing second,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

also dominated the medal table with six in overall.

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, on the other hand, had a two-way tie for third place in the standings, with two golds and three in overall. The men's rowing events became most notable for Great Britain's

Steve Redgrave Sir Steven Geoffrey Redgrave (born 23 March 1962) is a British retired rower who won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. He has also won three Commonwealth Games gold medals and nine World Rowing Championships golds ...

, who won his fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal for the coxless four. He first won at Los Angeles in 1984, followed by gold medals in 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000, a record span of 16 years between his first and last gold medal. It was also his sixth overall Olympic medal, having won the bronze in 1988 for the coxed pair. At age 38, Redgrave also became the oldest male rower to win an Olympic gold medal, until he was surpassed by

's James Tomkins at the subsequent games. Tomkins, competing in his fourth games, won the bronze medal, and third medal overall for the men's coxless pair with his partner Matthew Long. In the women's rowing events, Romania's

Elisabeta Lipă Elisabeta Lipă (; née Oleniuc on 26 October 1964) is a retired rower and government official from Romania. She is the most decorated rower in the history of the Olympics, winning five gold, two silver and one bronze medals. She holds the rec ...

won her third consecutive Olympic gold medal and fourth overall. Lipă, who was part of Romania's

women's eight An eight is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing (crew). It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a coxswain, or "cox". Each of the eight rowers has one oar. The rowers, who sit ...

, won her first in Los Angeles in 1984, followed by gold medals in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. It was also her seventh overall, having won a silver and a bronze in 1988 and an additional silver in 1992. Germany's

Kathrin Boron Kathrin Boron (born 4 November 1969 in Eisenhüttenstadt, East Germany) is a German sculler, and four-time Olympic gold medallist. She's an athlete of the SV Dynamo / SG Dynamo Potsdam. Boron won the women's double sculls at the 1992 Summer Oly ...

had won her first Olympic gold medal and third overall in the quadruple sculls, teaming up with her partner

Jana Thieme Jana Thieme (born 6 July 1970) is a German rower and Olympic champion. Thieme travelled to Barcelona for the 1992 Summer Olympics as a substitute but did not compete. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics. She won a gold medal in double scul ...

. The rowing events also depict some numerous dramatic races, as the single scull events became highly anticipated and closely contested.

Ekaterina Karsten Ekaterina Karsten ( be, Кацярына Карстэн, ''Kaciaryna Karsten''; russian: Екатерина Карстен; born 2 June 1972) is a Belarusian rower, a seven-time Olym ...

, the defending Olympic champion from Belarus, won a photo finish in the women's single sculls, over Bulgaria's

Rumyana Neykova Rumyana Neykova ( bg, Румяна Нейкова; born 6 April 1973 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian rower. Neykova competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics, the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2000 Summer Olympics, where she won silver in Single Sculls, the 20 ...

by one hundredths of a second. On the other hand, New Zealand's

Rob Waddell Robert Norman Waddell (born 7 January 1975) is a New Zealand Olympic Gold Medalist and double World Champion Single sculler rower, and America's Cup yachtsman. He is a triple New Zealand Supreme 'Halberg Awards' Sportsperson of the year winner ...

, world champion (and world record holder in

indoor rowing Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

) beat defending Olympic champion

Xeno Müller Xeno Müller (born 7 August 1972) is a Swiss rower and Olympic gold medallist. Early career and university His first international appearance was at the 1990 World Rowing Junior Championships – winning bronze in his single scull (1x). He f ...

of Switzerland, along with Germany's

Marcel Hacker Marcel Hacker (born 29 April 1977, in Magdeburg) is a German rower. He won an Olympic bronze medal in 2000 in Sydney and became a world champion in 2002 in Seville. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he competed in men ...

and Canada's

Derek Porter Derek Nesbitt-Porter (born 2 November 1967) is a gold medal-winning Olympic Rowing (sport), rower from Canada. Early life and education He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and his father Hugh rowed for England at the 1958 British Empire ...

in a tough, close race.

won the gold medal in the men's eight for the first time since 1912, beating

by four fifths of a second.

Medal summary

Men's events

Women's events

Medal table

References

External links

Official Report of the 2000 Sydney Summer OlympicsRowing Results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowing At The 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2000 Summer Olympics events O Rowing competitions in Australia