Rowing has been part of the Summer Olympics since its debut in the 1900 Games. Rowing was on the program at the 1896 Summer Olympics but was cancelled due to bad weather. Only men were allowed to compete until the women's events were introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal which gave national federations the incentive to support women's events and catalysed growth in women's rowing. Lightweight rowing events were introduced to the games in 1996. Qualifying for the rowing events is under the jurisdiction of the World Rowing Federation. World Rowing predates the modern Olympics and was the first international sport federation to join the modern Olympic movement.
Rowing at the 1980 Summer Olympics was represented by 14 events. It took place in the Man-made Basin, located at the Trade Unions Olympic Sports Centre. The rowing schedule began on 20 July and ended on 27 July.
Allan Whitwell is a British former rower who competed for Great Britain and England.
Rowing at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul featured 14 events in total, for men and women, held on the Han River Regatta Course.
Alf John Hansen is a retired rower from Norway. Early in his career, he received two Norwegian sport awards shared with his brother Frank. Towards the end of his career in 1990, he was the inaugural recipient of the Thomas Keller Medal, the highest honour in rowing. His international rowing career spanned more than two decades.
Christopher Latham Baillieu MBE is an English former rower who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics and in the 1980 Summer Olympics representing Great Britain. He was the first chairman of British Swimming, from 2001 to 2008.
James Clark is a British rower who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, in the 1976 Summer Olympics, and in the 1980 Summer Olympics.
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 single sculls competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place at Misari Regatta, South Korea. The event was held from 19 to 24 September. It was the 20th appearance of the event, which had been held at every Olympic Games since the introduction of rowing in 1900. NOCs were limited to one boat apiece; 22 sent a competitor in the men's single sculls. Thomas Lange of East Germany won the event, denying Pertti Karppinen a record fourth-straight win and starting a two-Games winning streak of his own. Peter-Michael Kolbe of West Germany took his third silver, joining Karppinen and Vyacheslav Ivanov as three-time medalists in the event. New Zealand earned its first medal in the event since 1920, with Eric Verdonk taking bronze.
The men's double sculls competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place at Meilahti, Finland. The event was held from 20 July until 23 July.
The men's coxless pair 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.
The women'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 21 to 26 July.
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 women's double 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 21 to 26 July.
The women's quadruple 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 21 to 26 July. Whilst the equivalent men's event was coxless, the women's event was coxed.
The men's quadruple 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.
The men's coxless four (M4-) 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.
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.
