See Martin Cross’s “Dream Crew” and more statistics below.

The women’s quad has featured on the Olympic programme for nearly 40 years, since 1988. And, as with the men’s quad, Germany is the nation that made the greatest impact on this boat class. The statistics are remarkable. Since they first medalled at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, the German women have not missed a single Olympic podium, winning a total of six medals, four of them gold.

In the rankings, Ukraine comes in second with two medals overall (one of them gold), while China and East Germany tie in third place with one gold medal each. Great Britain was also a main player at the Olympic level in the women’s quadruple sculls in the last decade, winning three silver medals between 2000 and 2008.

Kathrin Boron, Germany’s most successful female athlete ever and one of the most successful female rowers of all time, raced at five Olympic Games, three of which she competed at in the women’s quadruple sculls. She claimed two of her four Olympic titles in the quad, at the Atlanta 1996 and the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. In 2008, her last Olympic participation at the age of 39, Boron added a silver in this event to her Olympic medal collection. This has helped place her in fourth position overall on the list of all-time most successful Olympic female rowers.

Boron is not alone. Fellow countrywomen Manuela Lutze and Kerstin El Qalqili also raced twice to Olympic gold and once to Olympic silver in the women’s quad. One of their Olympic titles was won without Boron, at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Rowing Regatta. Lutze and El Qalqili are 19^th and 21^st respectively on the list of all-time top Olympic female rowers.

Leading up to Rio, Germany remains the top crew to look out for. In this Olympic cycle, Germany has secured two World Rowing Championships (2013 and 2014) and one world silver (2015). So recently the only ‘glitches’ has been Ukraine taking gold at the London Olympics and the United States scoring gold at the 2015 World Rowing Championships. This was a first for the US who have never before won the quad. It followed a pattern of improvement that included bronze in 2012 and 2014.

The World Best Time is currently owned by Germany after they set it in 2104, They also set the two previous best times, one in 2012 and the one prior in 1994.

ALL-TIME DREAM CREW IN THE MEN’S QUADRUPLE SCULLS

By Martin Cross

Using more than a century of modern rowing, Martin Cross looks at the sport’s legendary performers and plays selector. This is his pick of the best men’s quad ever. Between them, the four men in this boat have a remarkable nine Olympic singles titles.

Stroke: Kathrin Boron (GER)

If you want a fantastic stroke for a crew sculling boat, they don’t come with much more experience than this woman. Her Olympic medal tally: four gold medals. Her technique may not have been ‘perfect’ – with a distinctive ‘arm-break’ at the catch – but this sculling legend epitomizes success at this level.

3 Seat: Ekaterina Karsten (BLR)

The Belorussian is a sculling phenomenon. With a sparkling 24-year international career, she began in 1990 becoming a junior World Champion. Between 1996 and 2000, her long reach and tactical adaptability seemed to make her unbeatable and during this time she took two Olympic singles titles. Karsten, in her 44th year is aiming for Olympics number seven.

2 Seat: Katrin Rutschow (GER)

A feisty athlete, and with her red hair, Rutschow always stood out. She will be remembered for her single sculling success: gold – ahead of Karsten – at the Athens Olympics and bronze in Sydney. At only 21, she was already good enough to be two-seat of the dominant German quad that took Olympic gold in Atlanta.

Bow: Joan Lind (USA)

In 1976, women competed at the Olympic Games for the first time, racing for 1000m. Among the triumphant crews from Eastern bloc countries, there was one result that stood out: Joan Lind’s silver medal in the single sculls. The American sculler was a constant presence in world finals in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She also won silver in the quad 1984 Olympics. The determination needed to produce those results won her a seat in this crew.

STATISTICS AND LINKS

Videos

Olympic Games – London 2012

World Rowing Championships – Aiguebelette 2015

World Rowing Championships – Amsterdam 2014

World Rowing Championships – Chungju 2013

Olympic Qualification (as of 3 May 2016)

No.	Qualif Regatta	W4x (7)
1	2015 WRCH	USA
2	2015 WRCH	GER
3	2015 WRCH	NED
4	2015 WRCH	POL
5	2015 WRCH	AUS
6	FOQR	tbd
7	FOQR	tbd

World Best Times – Historical Evolution

Time	Boat	Competition
6:06.84	GER	2014 World Rowing Championships – Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Final A)
6:09.38	GER1	2012 World Rowing Cup II – Lucerne, Switzerland (Heat 1)
6:11.73	GER	1994 World Rowing Championships – Indianapolis, United States (Final A)
6:13.91	RDA	1986 World Rowing Championships – Nottingham, Great Britain (Final A)

Olympic Best Times – Historical Evolution
Time	Boat	Competition
06:11.8	CHN	2008 Olympic Games – Beijing, China (Heat 1)
06:15.6	GBR	2004 Olympic Games – Schinias/Athens, Greece (Heat 1)
06:19.6	GER	2000 Olympic Games – Penrith/Sydney, Australia (Final A)
6:20.2	GER	1992 Olympic Games – Barcelona, Spain (Final A)
06:21.1	RDA	1988 Olympic Games – South Korea (Final A)

Olympic countdown: women's quadruple sculls

Olympic Blog

Partners