Ebbesen and Karsten top 2011 best list

Ebbesen, 39, returned to rowing this year after retiring in 2008 following his third Olympic gold medal. But the lure of another Olympic medal and the desire to boost Denmark’s struggling lightweight men’s four drew Ebbesen back into rowing. Ebbesen first took Olympic gold in 1996 and by 2004 he was the most successful lightweight rower in the world.

The Dane, who was the mainstay of Denmark’s famous ‘Golden Four’ then retired after gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics only to come back to the sport a year before the Beijing Olympics where he won Olympic gold number three. This year Ebbesen’s lightweight four finished the Samsung World Rowing Cup season with two golds and a bronze.

Ebbesen’s return this year and also the return to rowing of Australia’s Drew Ginn has meant that two-time men’s single sculls Olympic Champion Tufte is in spot number three. Ginn, like , won his third Olympic gold at the Beijing Olympics and then took time off to have a back operation. Ginn used top level cycling to get his fitness back and he returned to rowing this year in the men’s four.

Ginn, 36, first found rowing fame as part of the ‘Oarsome Foursome’ – the men’s four that were gold medallists at the 1996 Olympic Games. Ginn is now aiming for the London Olympics and this year at the World Rowing Championships Ginn’s crew, the four, took bronze, indicating their potential for more next year.

Remaining at the top of the women’s top 10 list is Ekaterina Karsten. Karsten, 39, is a career rower and is rarely found off the medals podium for the women’s single sculls. This year she continued to show good form winning the Samsung World Rowing Cup series and then taking silver at the World Rowing Championships. This adds to

Karsten’s collection that includes five Olympic medals and six World Championship titles.

The top 10 women are much the same as 2010 with United States coxswain of the women’s eight Mary Whipple coming in second. Whipple is followed by a rower from the United States women’s eight, Susan Francia. The success of the United States women’s eight is phenomenal and it means that six of the women in the top 10 are part of this boat. The eight has been on an unbroken winning streak since 2006. That adds up to five consecutive World Championship titles and an Olympic Gold medal.

Whipple (and coach Tom Terhaar) is the common denominator of all of these boats with the line-up of the eight regularly changing, especially after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Whipple has been with the eight since 2001 and is currently working towards her third Olympic Games.

The very popular Susan Francia (United States) is in the third spot on the women’s list. Francia, 28, has medalled in both the eight and the pair and is currently aiming for her second Olympic Games.

For the full list of top 10 male and female rowers, as well as an explanation on how the ranking system operates, please click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page.