Paralympic Rowing: An Introduction

The postponed Tokyo 2020 Paralympics get underway this week in Japan, and just like at the Olympics, rowing will be one of the first sports to feature. Racing begins this week on the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo on Friday, August 27th. To help you enjoy the action, here’s a quick guide to all you need to know about Para rowing at Tokyo 2020.

Enjoyed by Olympic founder Baron de Coubertin himself, rowing has been part of every modern Olympic Games. However, Para rowing is one of the Paralympics’ relatively new additions. The first Para World Rowing Championship races were contested less than 20 years ago in 2002 and the sport only made its Paralympic debut in Beijing in 2008. Great Britain has won half of the 12 contested Paralympic events held since its introduction, and the British hope to continue their success in Japan.

Created by the international federation World Rowing, Para rowing is similar to its Olympic counterpart; Para-athletes compete at the same regattas, use the same docks, and since 2017 row the same 2,000m distance (prior to 2017 para races were 1,000m). The boats are largely the same too, with some modifications.

One element of Para rowing that is not seen at the Olympic Games is mixed crews. Both the doubles (PR2Mix2x) and four (PR3Mix4+) races involve 50/50 mixed-gender crews.

There are no lightweight events in Para rowing, but there is a mixture of sculling (each rower has two oars; one per hand) and sweep rowing (each rower has one oar pulled with both hands).

Classification in Para sports is used to ensure fair competition. There are three Para rowing classifications, these are:

PR1 - Rowers with minimal or no trunk function who propel the boat through arm and shoulder movements only. These rowers have little sitting balance, which requires them to be strapped to the boat/seat.

PR1 Paralympic events: PR1 M1x (Men’s single) + PR1 W1x (Women’s single)

PR2 - Rowers that have functional use of arms and trunk but have weakness/absence of leg function to slide the seat. Unlike PR1 rowers, PR2 athletes are able to swing the trunk forwards and backwards at the hip, making for longer more powerful strokes, however, the seat remains fixed in place.

PR2 Paralympic events: PR1 Mix2x (Mixed double)

PR3 - Rowers with residual function in the legs which allows them to slide the seat. This class also includes athletes with vision impairment. Para coxes do not need to meet any classification requirements, however, as with Olympic rowing, they must meet the minimum weight of 55 kilograms.

PR3 Paralympic events: PR1 Mix4+ (Mixed coxed four)

GB are firm favourites in the PR3 mixed coxed four. Britain has a long unbeaten record in the event at world and Paralympic level, stretching back to 2011, with the current quartet also the reigning world and European champions.

In the PR1 W1x, Birgit Skarstein of Norway hopes to add Tokyo gold to her palmarès. The keen athlete also represented Norway at the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games in cross-country skiing. On the water, she won both her World Cup races in 2019, and her winning performance at the 2018 Worlds in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, remains a World Best Time (10:13.630). In 2021 she added European Champion to her list of titles and has come a long way since failing to make the podium in Rio.

In the PR1 M1x, Ukrainian Roman Polianskyi will likely face a showdown with Australia’s Erik Horrie. The Ukrainian was a surprise winner at Rio 2016, much to the disappointment of hopeful Erik Horrie. The pair have been intense rivals since and look likely to be the ones duking it out for gold in Japan.

In the PR2 mixed double, Annika van der Meer and Corne de Koning of the Netherlands will head to Tokyo with the gold medal firmly in the sights. The duo have won every World Cup and World Championship race together since joining forces in 2017.

Racing begins at 9.30am local time on Friday August 27th.