Lightweight Women's Rowing

Rowing is one of few remaining amateur sports, yet is one of the most demanding and grueling sports out there. Rowers row because they have a deep love for the sport and the desire to push their limits both physically and mentally.

Lightweight rowing (Lwt for short) is a special category of rowing where limits are placed on the maximum weight of competitors. The rationale is that larger, taller people have a small but significant physical advantage and tend to dominate the sport. Having a lightweight category gives average sized individuals the ability to compete against their peers, but rowers who are tall and thin generally have an advantage over those who are shorter but broader.

At international level for crew boats the limits are:
Men: Crew average 70 kg (154 lb) - no rower over 72.5 kg (160 lb)
Women: Crew average 57 kg (126 lb) - no one over 59 kg (130 lb)

According to FISA, this weight category was introduced "to encourage more universality in the sport especially among nations with less statuesque people".
The first lightweight events were added to the World Championships in 1974 for men and 1985 for women. Lightweight rowing was added to the Olympics in 1996 but this came under threat in 2002 when the Programme Commission of the IOC recommended that, outside combat sports and weightlifting, there should not be weight category events. The Executive Board overturned this recommendation and lightweight rowing continues at the Olympics.

There are three Olympic-class lightweight events: Men's Coxless Fours, Men's Double Sculls and Women's Double Sculls. The lightweight women's double is the only Olympic-class event for lightweight women. All the women in a given country have to fight for these two spots, thus it is very competitive to make the boat in the U.S. as well as to end up on the Olympic Podium.

The World Championships include lightweights' events for all classes of crew, and in Olympic years a reduced World Championship regatta includes all events that are not represented at the Olympics.

See the International Results of USRowing Crews >