Paris 2024 Olympic Games Preview : the Eights

The mighty rowing eights are loved for their speed and power. They hold a level of awe for their speed and the sheer guts of the rowers needed to make them go fast. They are steeped in history from Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race through the 1936 Berlin Olympic eights race retold in the book and, recently, movie Boys in the Boat.

In the final at the Olympics the start line will be the biggest of any rowing boat class. Forty-eight rowers and six coxswains will be sitting there ready to race. At the Paris Olympic Games, racing will start for the eights on Monday 29 July.

Women’s Eight

Reigning Olympic Champions: Canada

Reigning World Champions: Romania

Overall 2024 World Rowing Cup winner: Australia

Over the years Canada has performed magnificently and then sometimes averagely in the women’s eight. But they’ve always been there. At the Tokyo Olympics they executed the perfect race to become Olympic Champions. Since then their results have been mixed including a fifth-place finish at last year’s World Rowing Championships. But at World Cup II this year Canada won putting them in a good position to defend their Olympic title. The crew has retained only three rowers from the Tokyo boat, Avalon Wasteneys, Sydney Payne, and Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, with coxswain Kristen Kit remaining as well.

So what about the world champions Romania? The did not race at World Cup II but did win this year’s European Rowing Championships – their only international race this season. The very talented Simona Radis was in stroke seat, Radis is the reigning Olympic Champion from the double. Up there challenging Canada this season is Great Britain. The British crew was right behind Canada at World Cup II.

After dominating the eight from 2005 through to the 2016 Rio Olympics, the United States’ incredible winning streak faltered. They did come through to take silver at the 2023 World Rowing Championships, but Tokyo showed that they were (finally) beatable. A medal, however, seems very likely. Although the line up has not been so stable in recent years, sitting in the boat is Meghan Musnicki. The 41-year-old has two Olympic golds from the eight and Paris will be her fourth Olympic Games.

Men’s Eight

Reigning Olympic Champions: New Zealand

Reigning World Champions: Great Britain

Overall 2024 World Rowing Cup winner: Great Britain

Domination by the Deutschland Achter – the German eight – in the decade leading up to the Tokyo Olympics left the rest of the field fighting for second. Occasionally Great Britain would get a look in at the top medal, but the German winning streak was formidable. Then a boat with an outside chance, New Zealand won on the Sea Forest waterway in Tokyo. Following the Olympics Germany had to rebuild and this has seen Great Britain regularly take over the top spot. Great Britain have only been beaten twice this Olympiad – in the Final of the 2023 World Rowing Cup III by Australia, and in the preliminary race of the 2024 World Rowing Cup II by the freshly qualified USA. New Zealand, meanwhile, hasn’t boated an eight and will not be at the Paris Olympics.

Hoping to join Great Britain at the head of the field are latecomers the United States. The US left it until the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in May to get their Paris Olympic spot. Then a week later they raced at World Rowing Cup II and came second to Great Britain by just 0.2 seconds. Can the US peak again at the end of July and improve on their fourth-place Tokyo position?

The Netherlands and Australia look to be in the mix. They regularly boat eights at international events and at last year’s World Rowing Championships the Dutch scored silver with the Aussies in the bronze medal spot. Australia can also take credit for beating Great Britain at one of last year’s World Cups.

Want more?

Men’s eight final 2023 World Rowing Championships : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCqwoPRcQNI

Women’s eight final 2023 World Rowing Championships https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h7qGHzAV1E Q

Olympic quota places: 7 for the men’s and women’s eight

Total number of athletes: 108

Qualification pathways: 5 quota places each at the 2023 World Rowing Championships:

Men: GBR, NED, AUS, ROU, GER.

Women: ROU, USA, AUS, GBR, CAN

2 quota places each at the 2024 Final Olympic qualification regatta:

Men: USA, ITA

Women: ITA, DEN

Olympic schedule: https://worldrowing.com/event/2024-olympic-games-regatta/