How to qualify in Rowing
How rowers qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
Rowing at Los Angeles 2028 has two parts.
Classic rowing on a 2,000 m course: 12 events, six for men and six for women, from the single sculls to the eight. Places are won by boat, for the country:
- The 2027 World Championships in Lucerne (23 to 29 August 2027) give most of the places: the top 10 in the singles, pairs and doubles, the top 7 in the fours and quads, the top 5 in the eights.
- Four continental regattas give single sculls places only: five per gender for Asia and Oceania, Africa and the Americas, three for Europe. Only countries with no boat (or one boat) from the World Championships can enter.
- A Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in 2028: two more boats per event.
Coastal rowing (beach sprints): men's and women's solo and a mixed double, 64 rowers in all, at most one man and one woman per country. Places come from the 2027 Beach Sprint Finals in Oeiras, Portugal (6 to 9 October 2027) and five continental events, one of them for Asia.
For India, the Asia and Oceania regatta is the main route in classic rowing (five single sculls places per gender), and the Asian continental event in coastal rowing (two solo places per gender and two mixed doubles).
Classic rowing: places by event (per gender)
| Boat | World Championships 2027 | Continental regattas | Final regatta | Boats | Rowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single sculls (1x) | 10 | 18 (Asia-Oceania 5, Africa 5, Americas 5, Europe 3) | 2 | 30 | 30 |
| Pair (2-) | 10 | 2 | 12 | 24 | |
| Double sculls (2x) | 10 | 2 | 12 | 24 | |
| Four (4-) | 7 | 2 | 9 | 36 | |
| Quadruple sculls (4x) | 7 | 2 | 9 | 36 | |
| Eight (8+) | 5 | 2 | 7 | 63 | |
| Host country (1x) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Universality (1x) | 2 | 2 | |||
| Extra coxswains | 3 | ||||
| Total | 49 | 18 | 12 | 82 | 219 |
Per country: one boat per event, up to 22 rowers per gender.
Who rows the boat. For a place won at the World Championships, the country may send different rowers, even in a different event. For a place won at a continental or final regatta, the same rowers must race in the same event.
Doubling up. At the final regatta, countries already qualified can also try to win extra boats for rowers who are already going (6 pairs, 6 doubles, 3 fours, 3 quads and 3 eights per gender). Those rowers must also race in their first event.
Every qualified rower must race in the first round (heat), or the crew is disqualified, unless there is a medical change.
Continental regattas (classic)
Four regattas: Asia and Oceania (Olympic Council of Asia and Oceania members), Africa, Americas, Europe. Only for countries with at most one boat from the World Championships. A country with one World Championships boat can win at most one more. Sites to be named by World Rowing by the end of 2026.
The final regatta (classic)
Open to all countries, in events where they have not yet qualified, one boat per event; a country that tried and failed at its continental regatta may try again. The top two in each event qualify.
Host country and universality (classic)
The United States is guaranteed one men's and one women's single scull if it does not qualify one. Universality places go to named rowers who must have raced at a qualification event; the IOC invites requests on 1 October 2027, with a deadline of 15 January 2028.
Where the document disagrees with itself. Section B.1 has one universality place per gender (two in all); the table in section D and section D.7 have two per gender (four in all).
Coastal rowing: places
| Men's solo | Women's solo | Mixed double (boats) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 Beach Sprint Finals | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Africa | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Americas | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Asia | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Europe | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Oceania | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Host country | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Universality | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Rowers | 17 | 17 | 30 |
Order of allocation: Beach Sprint Finals mixed doubles; continental mixed doubles; Beach Sprint Finals solos; continental solos. Continental places are given out only after the Finals places. A country cannot turn down a Finals place to take a continental one. With one man and one woman qualified, a country can enter both solos and the mixed double.
The United States must race at both the Beach Sprint Finals and a continental event to get its host places.
A rower who qualifies in both classic and coastal rowing counts once; World Rowing reallocates the spare place.
Places turned down
The next eligible boat or rower at the same event; then World Rowing's Executive Committee by 11 June 2028.
Dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| By 31 December 2026 | World Rowing names the continental regatta sites |
| 23 to 29 August 2027 | World Rowing Championships, Lucerne |
| 6 to 9 October 2027 | Beach Sprint Finals, Oeiras |
| 2027-28 (to be confirmed) | Continental regattas and events |
| 2028 (to be confirmed) | Final Olympic Qualification Regatta |
| 30 April 2028 | Countries declare rowers doubling up |
| 11 June 2028 | Last reallocation |
| 26 June 2028 | Entries deadline for the Games |
| 14 to 30 July 2028 | LA28 Olympic Games |
The coastal timeline still has "insert date" against the continental events.
Where to follow it
worldrowing.com publishes results and qualified boats.