The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad and commonly known as Moscow 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russia. The games were the first to be staged in an Eastern Bloc country, as well as the first Olympic Games and only Summer Olympics to be held in a Slavic language-speaking country. They were also the only Summer Olympic Games to be held in a socialist state until the 2008 Summer Olympics held in China. These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC Presidency of Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, before he was succeeded by Juan Antonio Samaranch.
At the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, four events in rowing were contested, marking the introduction of the sport to the Olympic program. At the inaugural 1896 Games, the rowing competition was cancelled due to strong winds. The 1900 regatta was held on the Seine between the Courbevoie Bridge and the Asnières Bridge on 25 and 26 August. The length of the regatta course was 1,750 metres. Two finals were held in the coxed four competition, with both finals being considered Olympic championships. Thus, there were a total of five rowing championships awarded.
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union from 19 July to 3 August. A total of 5,179 athletes representing 80 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 203 events in 22 sports. They were the first Games to be staged in a communist nation.
Rowing at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, United States featured 14 events in total, for both men and women. Events were held at Lake Casitas.
Rowing at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal featured races in 14 events, all held at the rowing basin on Notre Dame Island. Women's events held at 1000 m debuted.
Rowing at the 1928 Summer Olympics featured seven events, for men only. The competitions were held from 2 to 10 August.
Peter Niehusen is the only sportsman to have won international medals as both a coxswain and a rower. He won two gold medals and three bronze medals at the European and World Championships and the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
The men's single sculls rowing competition at the 1980 Summer Olympics took place at Krylatskoye Sports Complex Canoeing and Rowing Basin, Moscow, Soviet Union. The event was held from 20 to 27 July. There were 14 competitors from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Pertti Karppinen of Finland, his second of three consecutive victories from 1976 to 1984. Karppinen was the eighth man to win multiple medals in the event. Silver went to Vasil Yakusha of the Soviet Union, the nation's sixth medal in eight Games. East Germany took a third consecutive bronze medal, all by different rowers as Peter Kersten was the nation's men's single sculler this Games.
The men's eight rowing competition at the 1980 Summer Olympics took place at the Krylatskoye Rowing Canal in Moscow, Soviet Union. The event was held from 21 to 26 July. There were 9 boats from 9 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The first two places were the same as in 1976, with East Germany successfully defending its title and Great Britain repeating as runner-up. The 1976 bronze medalist, New Zealand, was not competing; the Soviet Union took bronze in 1980.
The men's coxed pair rowing competition at the 1980 Summer Olympics took place at Krylatskoye Sports Complex Canoeing and Rowing Basin, Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. The event was held from 20 to 27 July. There were 11 boats from 11 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Harald Jährling, Friedrich-Wilhelm Ulrich, and coxswain Georg Spohr of East Germany, the first men to successfully repeat as Olympic champions in the event. It was also the first time that a crew of the same three men earned multiple medals of any colour. East Germany's three straight medals matched the United States for most among nations to that point. Silver went to the Soviet Union again, though with an entirely different team from its 1976 runner-up crew; the silver medalists this time were Viktor Pereverzev, Gennadi Kryuçkin, and cox Aleksandr Lukyanov. Duško Mrduljaš, Zlatko Celent, and cox Josip Reić earned Yugoslavia's first medal in the event with their bronze.
The men's coxed four rowing competition at the 1980 Summer Olympics took place at Krylatskoye Sports Complex Canoeing and Rowing Basin, Moscow, Soviet Union. The event was held from 20 to 27 July. There were 12 boats from 12 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by East Germany, the nation's first victory after three consecutive silver medals since it began competing separately in 1968. Defending champions the Soviet Union finished second, while Poland's bronze medal was the first medal in the men's coxed four for that nation since 1932. Twin brothers Ullrich and Walter Dießner became the sixth and seventh men to earn two medals in the event, as they had also competed on the 1976 East German silver medal team.
The men's coxed four (M4+) competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Casitas in Ventura County, California, United States. There were 8 boats from 8 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. It was held from 30 July to 5 August and the dominant nations were missing from the event due to the Eastern Bloc boycott. Great Britain dominated the regatta, winning the nation's first rowing gold since the 1948 Summer Olympics, back then in front of their home crowd at the Henley Royal Regatta course. The 1984 event started Steve Redgrave's Olympic rowing success that would eventually see him win five Olympic gold medals. It was Great Britain's first victory in the men's coxed four and first medal of any colour in the event since 1912. The other medaling nations had also not been to the podium in the coxed four recently; the United States took silver, that nation's first medal in the event since 1952, while New Zealand's bronze was its first medal since 1968.
The men's eight competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place at Virgilio Uribe Rowing and Canoeing Course, Mexico City, Mexico. It was held from 13 to 19 October and was won by the team from West Germany, with the teams from Australia and the Soviet Union claiming silver and bronze respectively. It was West Germany's first appearance as a separate nation, though the United Team of Germany had won gold in 1960 and silver in 1964, with West Germans making up those teams. The silver medal was Australia's best result yet in the event; the nation had previously taken bronze in 1952 and 1956. The Soviet Union reached the podium in the men's eight for the first time since earning silver in 1952. Twelve teams from 12 nations attended the competition. Five of the teams replaced a total of five rowers during the competition, making for a total of 113 rowers who participated in the races.
The men's coxed four (M4+) competition at the 1976 Summer Olympics took place at the rowing basin on Notre Dame Island in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was held from 18 to 25 July and was won by the team from Soviet Union. There were 14 boats from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The victory was the Soviet Union's first medal in the men's coxed four. East Germany took its third consecutive silver medal, with entirely different crews each time. The defending champion West Germany received bronze this time. Hans-Johann Färber, the only rower from the 1972 gold medal team to return, became the fifth man to earn multiple medals in the event.
The men's eight competition at the 1976 Summer Olympics took place at the rowing basin on Notre Dame Island in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was held from 18 to 25 July and was won by the team from East Germany. It was East Germany's first victory in the event, improving on a bronze medal in 1972. The defending champions, New Zealand, switched places with the East Germans, taking bronze in 1972. Between them was Great Britain, taking its first men's eight medal since 1948. There were 11 boats from 11 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event.
The men's coxed four competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place at Misari Regatta, South Korea. It was held from 19 to 24 September. There were 14 boats from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by East Germany, returning to the top of the podium after the Soviet-led boycott in 1984 prevented the East Germans from defending their 1980 Olympic title. Silver went to Romania, its first medal in the men's coxed four. New Zealand took a second consecutive bronze medal in the event.
The men's eight (M8+) competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Casitas in Ventura County, California, United States. It was held from 31 July to 5 August. There were 7 boats from 7 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. New Zealand had won the last two world championships, and the other strong team, East Germany, was absent from the event due to the Eastern Bloc boycott. This made New Zealand the strong favourite. But the final was won by Canada, with the United States and Australia the other medallists, and New Zealand coming a disappointing fourth.
The men's eight competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place at Misari Regatta, South Korea. It was held from 20 to 25 September. There were 10 boats from 10 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by West Germany, the nation's first victory in the men's eight since 1968. It was West Germany's second gold medal in the event, tying Great Britain and East Germany for second-most, behind the United States with 11. In a photo finish for second place, the Soviet Union took silver over the United States.
The men's coxed four competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics took place at took place at Lake of Banyoles, Spain. It was held from 27 July to 1 August. There were 12 boats from 12 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Romania, the nation's first victory in the event; the Romanian team had taken silver in 1988. Germany, recently re-united, took silver in 1992; East Germany had won gold in 1988. Two men returned from the 1988 podium to medal again in 1992: Dimitrie Popescu of Romania and Hendrik Reiher of the former East German team. They were the eighth and ninth men to earn multiple medals in the event; due to the removal of the men's coxed four from the programme, they would be the last. Bronze went to Poland, the nation's fourth bronze medal in the coxed four.
