Back to the end point and forward to the heart.

In the Olympic Games, which racing athlete has his back to the finish line, and there is only one?

Which event did Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic movement, engage in?

At the Olympic Games, there is one event in which the number of players on each team is second only to football and hockey. Which event is it?

There is also such a project, in which an athlete relies on his voice without physical strength. What is this? Which project is this?

The answer to the above four questions is the same: rowing!

This ancient event has never been absent from the first Olympic Games until now. As a basic event, rowing is in a very important position in Olympic history. Today, let’s learn about rowing, which is not far away from us.

Take advantage of the Olympic East Wind to get attention

Yes, rowing is rowing with the back to the finish line. If you really can’t tell canoeing from rowing, see which one is rowing with the back to the finish line!

Rowing originated in England, and boatmen on the Thames often held rowing competitions in the 17th century. In 1715, in order to celebrate the coronation of the king of England, the first rowing competition was held in England. In 1829, Oxford University and Cambridge University held the first inter-school rowing competition, and then the influence of the competition gradually expanded, and this tradition has been preserved to this day.

In 1846, the British installed a paddle rack on the side of the boat to increase the length of the paddle and improve the rowing effect; In 1847, the outer keel boat with overlapping plates was converted into a smooth inner keel boat, which improved the rowing speed.

Rowing was first introduced to China in the mid-19th century. In 1849, on the Huangpu River on the Bund in Shanghai, foreign nationals organized rowing competitions for the first time. By 1860, the British organized expatriates to establish a "rowing association" on the banks of Suzhou River. At the end of 19th century, "Rowing Association" moved to the south side of Suzhou River outside the Bund. In 1906, the Rowing Association established branches in Minhang, Shanghai and Qingyang Port, Kunshan, Jiangsu. Now the Shanghai Rowing Open is still held in the former site of the Rowing Association.

Although rowing started in China a long time ago, it really came into people’s sight at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. China’s women’s four-oared helmsman boat defeated the rowing powers in Europe and America and won the Olympic silver medal. In addition, the women’s eight-man boat won the bronze medal. Although the performance of China rowing team caused a sensation in the world at that time, it was not well-known in China. Until the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, China’s Zhang Yangyang, Xi Aihua, Jin Ziwei and Tang Bin won the women’s quadruple sculls, and China rowing achieved a "zero breakthrough" in the Olympic gold medal of this event. Taking advantage of the east wind of Beijing Olympic Games, China rowing finally gained some fame. In 2021, the powerful China women’s quadruple sculls won the Olympic gold medal again with a huge advantage.

Special "Eight Orders"

The four questions mentioned at the beginning of the article, the third and fourth are actually the most unique event in rowing: eight-person single paddle rowing.

Eight-person single paddle rowing is called the jewel in the crown of rowing, which is the most noteworthy project in rowing and the most ornamental project. In fact, this project can also be derived from a question, that is: how many athletes are there in the eight-person single paddle project?

Not eight, but nine. The extra one is a helmsman. What the helmsman spends on the boat is not physical strength, but his voice. His job is to direct everyone to row. Eight-person boat is the only rowing event in the Olympic Games that retains the helmsman. Because rowers compete with their backs to the finish line, the helmsman becomes the only one who faces the finish line. Therefore, most rowing events need a helmsman at first. After the project develops slowly, only the eight-person boat still retains the position of helmsman. The helmsman is very important. The helmsman is the soul of the team, controlling the direction, grasping the rhythm, judging the situation and inspiring teammates. In the race, the rower doesn’t talk on the boat, and the helmsman is responsible for the rhythm control and tactical execution in the race. When to accelerate and overtake, the helmsman needs to give instructions. In normal training, the helmsman should also play the role of assistant coach, assisting the head coach to carry out training. A senior helmsman can keenly find out the subtle mistakes of each oar and correct them. The eighth position closest to the helmsman is often the core member of the eight-person boat, which controls the paddle frequency rhythm of the whole boat. The rowers in the middle are called power rowers, and they need to paddle powerfully to make the rowing boat move forward quickly. At the No.1 and No.2 positions near the bow, the rowers should keep the balance of the boat while rowing.

The eight-person boat has the fastest speed, the neatest cooperation and the strongest strength display in rowing. Eight-person boat finals are generally the finale of rowing competitions.

Of course, there are many interesting stories about the helmsman. In the second Paris Olympic Games held in 1900, in order to reduce the weight of the ship, the Netherlands temporarily recruited a suitable child to be a helmsman. After two rounds of screening, a 7-year-old boy was identified. But when the children sat on the boat, they had to tie another lead block to the rudder because they were too light to even hold it down. In the end, the Dutch team’s boat rushed to the finish line like an arrow, and finally defeated the host to win the championship. After the race, the boy’s helmsman won the championship with two rowers. However, perhaps the rowers were too excited to leave the child’s name. Nevertheless, this "unknown" boy is by far the youngest Olympic champion.

With the gradual improvement of rowing rules, the weight of the helmsman has been clearly stipulated: the lightest weight of the male helmsman should not be less than 55 kg, and that of the female helmsman should not be less than 50 kg. If it is less than this weight, it is necessary to add weight to the boat. In addition to the weight requirements for the athletes, there are also certain requirements for the weight of the rowing boat. Once the rowing boat is found to be ultra-light after the race, the race results will be cancelled. Therefore, in order to meet the weight requirements as far as possible, the helmsmen will also carry out physical training to control their weight within a reasonable range.

Interestingly, the age and gender of the helmsman are not limited in the competition, so at the Tokyo Olympic Games, a male helmsman was used for the women’s eight-person single paddle in China. After all, men and women work together, and they are not tired. Zhang Dechang, the helmsman of the women’s eighth singles, is the girls’ favorite big brother, and he usually "bullies" him.

From aristocratic to civilian.

In 1829, Oxford University and Cambridge University held the first inter-school rowing competition on the Thames, which was regarded by many as the origin of modern rowing. Since then, modern rowing has been inseparable from prestigious schools, which are closely related to the aristocratic class. Rowing is highly respected by the upper and middle class in Britain. This kind of team event requires tacit cooperation and etiquette of the players, as well as the support of family members. Rowing provides a social place for the upper class. Therefore, rowing has always been labeled as "aristocratic sport" at first. After entering China at the beginning of last century, people with a certain economic foundation were engaged in this sport, which made people feel that rowing was far away from us.

In fact, rowing has gradually become popular. Take its origin as an example, there are hundreds of rowing clubs in Britain, most of which are located in communities. Many British middle schools regard rowing as one of the important extracurricular activities for students. In China, rowing clubs have gradually developed, and many schools have included rowing in the "one hour after class" physical education curriculum. In recent years, land rowing has become increasingly popular. As an instrument that can be put in a gym or at home, land rowing has driven many people to participate in rowing. All kinds of mass rowing competitions come and go, and rowing is no longer an unattainable aristocratic sport. In Beijing, where water sports are not developed, you can find at least three to five clubs where rowing training can be conducted. In Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, where rowing is well developed, almost every water surface has been trained and operated.

On the one hand, rowing keeps its "aristocratic attribute" of respecting etiquette, on the other hand, it is accelerating the popularization and marketization, and the development space is increasingly broad.

China Rowing Tour in Paris

In competitive rowing, China started late. At present, it only won the Olympic gold medal in women’s rowing, which is far from the goal of "rowing power". Internationally, many countries attach more importance to rowing than they can imagine, such as Romania, which gathers the strength of the whole country to ensure the training of eight people with a single paddle. The United States, Britain and other countries also maintain long-term team training to stabilize the competitive level. China women’s quadruple sculls are facing challenges from German, Dutch, British, New Zealand and other teams at the Paris Olympic Games, and the situation is not optimistic. In addition to the women’s quadruple sculls, the women’s lightweight double sculls, which won the first gold medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games, are also expected to hit good results. (From June 28th, China Sports Daily, 04 edition)