Rowing at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's single sculls

Women's single sculls
at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Women's single sculls; at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
	Olympic rowing
Venue	Sea Forest Waterway
Dates	23–30 July 2021
Competitors	32 from 32 nations
Winning time	7:13.97
Medalists
	← 2016 2024 →

Last updated August 26, 2021

The women's single sculls event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 23 to 30 July 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway.^[1] 32 rowers from 32 nations competed.^[2]

Background

This will be the 12th appearance of the event, which has been held every year since women's rowing was introduced in 1976.

The World Champions since the 2016 Games are Jeannine Gmelin of Switzerland, (2017) and Sanita Pušpure, (2018 and 2019) of Ireland. Both rowers qualified for the 2020 regatta.

Qualification

Each National Olympic Committee (NOC) is limited to a single boat (one rower) in the event. There are 32 qualifying places in the women's single sculls:^[2]

9 from the 2019 World Championship
5 from the Asia & Oceania qualification regatta
5 from the Africa qualification regatta
5 from the Americas qualification regatta
3 from the Europe qualification regatta
2 from the final qualification regatta
1 host nation place
2 invitational places

The COVID-19 pandemic delayed many of the events for qualifying for rowing.

Competition format

This rowing event is a single scull event, meaning that each boat is propelled by a single rower. The "scull" portion means that the rower uses two oars, one on each side of the boat; this contrasts with sweep rowing in which each rower has one oar and rows on only one side (not feasible for singles events). The competition consists of multiple rounds. The competition continues to use the five-round format introduced in 2012. Finals are held to determine the placing of each boat; these finals are given letters with those nearer to the beginning of the alphabet meaning a better ranking. Semifinals are named based on which finals they feed, with each semifinal having two possible finals. The course uses the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912.^[3]

During the first round six heats are held. The first three boats in each heat advance to the quarterfinals, while all others are relegated to the repechages.

The repechage is a round which offers rowers a second chance to qualify for the quarterfinals. Placing in the repechage heats determines which quarterfinal the boat would race in. The top two boats in each repechage heat move on to the quarterfinals, with the remaining boats going to the E/F semifinals.

The four quarterfinals are the second round for rowers still competing for medals. Placing in the quarterfinal heats determines which semifinal the boat would race in. The top three boats in each quarterfinal move on to the A/B semifinals, with the bottom three boats going to the C/D semifinals.

Six semifinals are held, two each of A/B semifinals, C/D semifinals, and E/F semifinals. For each semifinal race, the top three boats move on to the better of the two finals, while the bottom three boats go to the lesser of the two finals possible. For example, a second-place finish in an A/B semifinal would result in advancement to the A final.

The fifth and final round is the finals. Each final determines a set of rankings. The A final determines the medals, along with the rest of the places through 6th. The B final gives rankings from 7th to 12th, the C from 13th to 18th, and so on. Thus, to win a medal rowers have to finish in the top three of their heat (or top two of their repechage heat), top three of their quarterfinal, and top three of their A/B semifinal to reach the A final.

Schedule

The competition is held over eight days. Times given are session start times; multiple rowing events might have races during a session.^[1]

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Date	Time	Round
Friday, 23 July 2021	9:30	Heats
Saturday, 24 July 2021	8:00	Repechage
Sunday, 25 July 2021	9:20	Semifinals E/F
Sunday, 25 July 2021	11:00	Quarterfinals
Thursday, 29 July 2021	10:30	Semifinals A/B
Thursday, 29 July 2021	12:00	Semifinals C/D
Friday, 30 July 2021	7:55	Final F
	8:15	Final E
	8:25	Final D
	8:45	Final C
	9:05	Final B
Friday, 30 July 2021	9:33	Final A

Results

Heats

The first three of each heat qualify for the quarterfinals, while the remainder go to the repechage.^[4]

Heat 1

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	2	Kara Kohler	United States	7:49.71	Q
2	1	Tatsiana Klimovich	Belarus	7:51.86	Q
3	6	Nazanin Malaei	Iran	7:59.01	Q
4	4	Alejandra Alonso	Paraguay	8:11.88	R
5	5	Esther Toko	Nigeria	8:58.49	R
6	3	Esraa Khogali	Sudan	10:18.27	R

Heat 2

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	5	Sanita Pušpure	Ireland	7:46.08	Q
2	6	Kenia Lechuga	Mexico	7:54.21	Q
3	2	Anneta Kyridou	Greece	7:54.28	Q
4	3	Felice Aisha Chow	Trinidad and Tobago	8:02.02	R
5	1	Kathleen Grace Noble	Uganda	8:21.85	R
6	4	Joan Poh	Singapore	8:31.12	R

Heat 3

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	3	Hanna Prakatsen	ROC	7:48.74	Q
2	5	Jiang Yan	China	7:53.14	Q
3	1	Veronica Toro Arana	Puerto Rico	8:11.57	Q
4	4	Winne Hung	Hong Kong	8:17.79	R
5	2	Sarah Fraincart	Morocco	8:32.78	R

Heat 4

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	3	Victoria Thornley	Great Britain	7:44.30	Q
2	5	Jeannine Gmelin	Switzerland	7:47.20	Q
3	1	Lovisa Claesson	Sweden	7:58.41	Q
4	2	Evidelia González	Nicaragua	8:25.18	R
5	4	Claire Ayivon	Togo	8:48.07	R

Heat 5

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	2	Magdalena Lobnig	Austria	7:37.91	Q
2	4	Carling Zeeman	Canada	7:40.72	Q
3	5	Maike Diekmann	Namibia	7:56.37	Q
4	1	Milena Venega	Cuba	8:03.00	R
5	3	Tala Abujbara	Qatar	8:06.29	R

Heat 6

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	5	Emma Twigg	New Zealand	7:35.22	Q
2	1	Sophie Souwer	Netherlands	7:39.96	Q
3	3	Jovana Arsić	Serbia	7:46.74	Q
4	4	Huang Yi-ting	Chinese Taipei	8:04.59	R
5	2	Jeong Hye-jeong	South Korea	8:12.15	R

Repechage

The first two in each heat qualify for the quarterfinals; the rest go to Semifinals E/F (out of medal contention).

Repechage heat 1

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	4	Alejandra Alonso	Paraguay	8:08.91	Q
2	3	Huang Yi-ting	Chinese Taipei	8:11.56	Q
3	2	Tala Abujbara	Qatar	8:16.88	QEF
4	1	Joan Poh	Singapore	8:40.06	QEF
5	5	Sarah Fraincart	Morocco	8:42.78	QEF

Repechage heat 2

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	2	Felice Chow	Trinidad and Tobago	8:15.94	Q
2	1	Jeong Hye-jeong	South Korea	8:26.73	Q
3	3	Evidelia González	Nicaragua	8:37.55	QEF
4	4	Esther Toko	Nigeria	9:07.54	QEF

Repechage heat 3

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	3	Milena Venega	Cuba	8:17.30	Q
2	2	Winne Hung	Hong Kong	8:23.58	Q
3	4	Kathleen Grace Noble	Uganda	8:36.01	QEF
4	1	Claire Ayivon	Togo	9:04.23	QEF
5	5	Esraa Khogali	Sudan	10:25.94	QEF

Quarterfinals

The first three of each heat qualify to Semifinal A/B, while the remainder go to Semifinal C/D (out of medal contention).

Quarterfinal 1

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	4	Sanita Pušpure	Ireland	7:58.30	SF A/B
2	3	Kara Kohler	United States	7:59.39	SF A/B
3	5	Jiang Yan	China	8:00.01	SF A/B
4	2	Jovana Arsić	Serbia	8:09.37	SF C/D
5	6	Alejandra Alonso	Paraguay	8:29.80	SF C/D
6	1	Winne Hung	Hong Kong	8:36.37	SF C/D

Quarterfinal 2

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	3	Hanna Prakatsen	ROC	7:49.64	SF A/B
2	5	Carling Zeeman	Canada	7:57.58	SF A/B
3	4	Victoria Thornley	Great Britain	7:59.93	SF A/B
4	2	Lovisa Claesson	Sweden	8:16.99	SF C/D
5	6	Milena Venega	Cuba	8:25.26	SF C/D
6	1	Jeong Hye-jeong	South Korea	8:38.70	SF C/D

Quarterfinal 3

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	4	Magdalena Lobnig	Austria	7:58.20	SF A/B
2	3	Sophie Souwer	Netherlands	7:59.92	SF A/B
3	2	Anneta Kyridou	Greece	8:02.19	SF A/B
4	5	Tatsiana Klimovich	Belarus	8:09.04	SF C/D
5	1	Felice Chow	Trinidad and Tobago	8:21.23	SF C/D
6	6	Veronica Toro Arana	Puerto Rico	8:35.32	SF C/D

Quarterfinal 4

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	3	Emma Twigg	New Zealand	7:54.96	SF A/B
2	4	Jeannine Gmelin	Switzerland	8:02.10	SF A/B
3	1	Nazanin Malaei	Iran	8:07.32	SF A/B
4	2	Kenia Lechuga	Mexico	8:09.29	SF C/D
5	5	Maike Diekmann	Namibia	8:21.69	SF C/D
6	6	Huang Yi-ting	Chinese Taipei	8:34.51	SF C/D

Semifinals

The first three of each heat qualify to the better final (E, C, A) while the remainder go to the lower final (F, D, B).

Semifinal A/B 1

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	4	Hanna Prakatsen	ROC	7:23.61	FA
2	5	Jeannine Gmelin	Switzerland	7:25.80	FA
3	1	Jiang Yan	China	7:27.30	FA
4	2	Sophie Souwer	Netherlands	7:29.66	FB
5	3	Sanita Pušpure	Ireland	7:34.40	FB
6	6	Anneta Kyridou	Greece	7:40.81	FB

Semifinal A/B 2

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	4	Emma Twigg	New Zealand	7:20.70	FA
2	6	Victoria Thornley	Great Britain	7:25.12	FA
3	3	Magdalena Lobnig	Austria	7:25.59	FA
4	2	Kara Kohler	United States	7:26.10	FB
5	5	Carling Zeeman	Canada	7:38.28	FB
6	1	Nazanin Malaei	Iran	7:45.52	FB

Semifinal C/D 1

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	4	Lovisa Claesson	Sweden	7:35.91	FC
2	3	Jovana Arsić	Serbia	7:39.26	FC
3	5	Maike Diekmann	Namibia	7:40.77	FC
4	2	Felice Chow	Trinidad and Tobago	7:45.14	FD
5	1	Veronica Toro Arana	Puerto Rico	7:53.36	FD
6	6	Winne Hung	Hong Kong	7:56.30	FD

Semifinal C/D 2

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	4	Kenia Lechuga	Mexico	7:33.72	FC
2	3	Tatsiana Klimovich	Belarus	7:33.78	FC
3	5	Milena Venega	Cuba	7:41.18	FC
4	2	Alejandra Alonso	Paraguay	7:43.33	FD
5	6	Huang Yi-ting	Chinese Taipei	7:56.00	FD
6	1	Jeong Hye-jeong	South Korea	8:06.32	FD

Semifinal E/F 1

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	3	Tala Abujbara	Qatar	8:24.24	FE
2	2	Kathleen Grace Noble	Uganda	8:31.67	FE
3	1	Esther Toko	Nigeria	9:07.70	FE
4	4	Esraa Khogali	Sudan	10:23.52	FF

Semifinal E/F 2

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	2	Evidelia González	Nicaragua	8:36.99	FE
2	4	Sarah Fraincart	Morocco	8:43.90	FE
3	3	Joan Poh	Singapore	8:47.77	FE
4	1	Claire Ayivon	Togo	9:15.29	FF

Finals

Final F

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
31	2	Claire Ayivon	Togo	8:44.42
32	1	Esraa Khogali	Sudan	10:05.32

Final E

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time
25	4	Tala Abujbara	Qatar	8:00.22
26	5	Kathleen Grace Noble	Uganda	8:07.00
27	3	Evidelia González	Nicaragua	8:10.37
28	6	Joan Poh	Singapore	8:21.23
29	2	Sarah Fraincart	Morocco	8:25.38
30	1	Esther Toko	Nigeria	8:42.78

Final D

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time
19	3	Felice Chow	Trinidad and Tobago	7:48.06
20	5	Huang Yi-ting	Chinese Taipei	7:52.18
21	4	Alejandra Alonso	Paraguay	7:55.63
22	2	Veronica Toro Arana	Puerto Rico	7:57.22
23	1	Winne Hung	Hong Kong	8:02.79
24	6	Jeong Hye-jeong	South Korea	8:06.13

Final C

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time
13	5	Tatsiana Klimovich	Belarus	7:39.53
14	4	Lovisa Claesson	Sweden	7:41.07
15	2	Jovana Arsić	Serbia	7:43.30
16	3	Kenia Lechuga	Mexico	7:43.55
17	1	Milena Venega	Cuba	7:47.40
18	6	Maike Diekmann	Namibia	7:52.17

Final B

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time
7	3	Sophie Souwer	Netherlands	7:25.96
8	2	Carling Zeeman	Canada	7:29.59
9	4	Kara Kohler	United States	7:29.72
10	6	Anneta Kyridou	Greece	7:36.79
11	1	Nazanin Malaei	Iran	7:42.57
12	5	Sanita Pušpure	Ireland	DNS

Final A

Rank	Lane	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
	4	Emma Twigg	New Zealand	7:13.97	OB
	3	Hanna Prakatsen	ROC	7:17.39
	6	Magdalena Lobnig	Austria	7:19.72
4	5	Victoria Thornley	Great Britain	7:20.39
5	2	Jeannine Gmelin	Switzerland	7:20.91
6	1	Jiang Yan	China	7:21.33

Related Research Articles

The men's single sculls competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre, Greece. The event was held from 14 to 21 August and was one of six events for male competitors in Rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. There were 29 competitors from 29 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Olaf Tufte of Norway. Silver went to Jüri Jaanson of Estonia, with bronze to Ivo Yanakiev of Bulgaria. It was the first medal in the men's single sculls for all three nations. Marcel Hacker's failure to make the final made this the first men's single sculls race since 1956 without a German rower on the podium; between the United Team of Germany, East Germany, West Germany, and Germany, the German medal streak in the event had been 11 Games long.

The men's single sculls competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held between 9 and 16 August, at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. There were 32 competitors from 32 nations. The event was won by Olaf Tufte of Norway, the fifth man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the event. The silver medal went to Ondřej Synek of the Czech Republic, the nation's first medal in the event. Mahé Drysdale of New Zealand earned bronze. Both Synek and Drysdale would go on to win medals in the event again in 2012 and 2016.

Women's single sculls competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held between August 9 and 16, at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.

Women's lightweight double sculls competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held between August 10 and 17 at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.

The men's single sculls competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London took place at Dorney Lake which, for the purposes of the Games venue, was officially termed Eton Dorney. It was held from 28 July to 3 August. There were 33 competitors from 33 nations. The event was won by Mahé Drysdale of New Zealand, the nation's first victory in the event since 2000. Ondřej Synek of the Czech Republic earned his second consecutive silver in the event; Drysdale and Synek were the 13th and 14th men to win multiple medals in the single sculls; they would go on to be the 5th and 6th to earn three in the event in 2016 when Drysdale repeated as champion and Synek added a bronze. The 2012 bronze went to Alan Campbell, Great Britain's first medal in the event since 1928.

The men's single sculls competition at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich took place from 27 August to 2 September at the Olympic Reggatta Course in Oberschleißheim. There were 18 competitors from 18 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Yury Malyshev of the Soviet Union, the nation's fifth victory in the event; the Soviets returned to the top of the podium after having their four-Games (1952–1964) winning streak broken in 1968. Alberto Demiddi of Argentina took silver, the seventh man to win multiple medals in the single sculls. Wolfgang Güldenpfennig earned bronze, the first medal for East Germany as a separate team.

The men's quadruple sculls competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia took place at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.

The women's single sculls competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia took place at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.

The women's double sculls competition during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia took place at Sydney International Regatta Centre.

The women's quadruple sculls competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia took place at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.

The men's single sculls competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia took place at the Sydney International Regatta Centre. It was held from 17 to 23 September. There were 24 competitors from 24 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Rob Waddell of New Zealand, the nation's first victory in the event after bronze medals in 1920 and 1988. Defending champion Xeno Müller of Switzerland placed second, becoming the 11th man to win multiple medals in the event. Marcel Hacker of Germany took bronze; it was the 11th consecutive Games with a German rower on the podium in the event.

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 single sculls competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held from 6 to 13 August at the Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas. There were 32 competitors from 32 nations. The event was won by Mahé Drysdale of New Zealand, the sixth man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the event. He won an exceptionally close final against Damir Martin of Croatia. Martin's silver was Croatia's first medal in the event. Bronze went to Ondřej Synek of the Czech Republic. Both Drysdale and Synek earned their third medal in the event; Drysdale had taken bronze in 2008 before winning in 2012 and 2016, while Synek had twice been the runner-up in 2008 and 2012 before this third-place finish.

The men's quadruple sculls competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia took place at Lake Lanier.

The men's single sculls event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 23 to 30 July 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway. 32 rowers from 32 nations competed.

The men's coxless pair event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 24 to 29 July 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway. 26 rowers from 13 nations competed.

The men's double sculls event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 23 to 28 July 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway. 26 rowers from 13 nations competed.

The men's quadruple sculls event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 23 to 27 July 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway. 40 rowers from 10 nations competed.

The women's double sculls event at the 2020 Summer Olympics is scheduled took place from 23 to 28 July 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway. 26 rowers from 13 nations competed.

The women's quadruple sculls event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 23 to 27 July 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway. 40 rowers from 10 nations competed.

References

1 2 "Rowing Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
1 2 "Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Rowing" (PDF). World Rowing Federation . Retrieved 6 May 2021.
↑ "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
↑ "Rowing - Women's Single Sculls Results". olympics.com. Retrieved 21 July 2021.

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[Dates-1] 1 2 "Rowing Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2021.

[Qualifying-2] 1 2 "Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Rowing" (PDF). World Rowing Federation . Retrieved 6 May 2021.

[WorldRowingHistory-3] "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2021.

[4] "Rowing - Women's Single Sculls Results". olympics.com. Retrieved 21 July 2021.

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Rowing at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Qualification
Single sculls	men	women
Coxless pair	men	women
Double sculls	men	women
Lwt double sculls	men	women
Coxless four	men	women
Quadruple sculls	men	women
Eight	men	women
v t e