St Edward's Academic Review 2025

ACADEMIC REVIEW 2025

Biomechanics of rowing

Breaking the rowing stroke down

For the purpose of this research, biomechanics is the study of movement in rowing and considers the interaction between the athlete and their equipment. There is a common misconception that rowing is an arm sport; it is in fact, entirely focused on the legs. The principles of rowing have been summarised by Pulman as being ‘quite simple; momentum is transferred to the water by pulling on the oar and pushing with the legs, which causes the seat to slide backwards’ (Pulman, 2004). Every aspect of rowing is centred around the goal of getting from A to B as quickly as possible. In order to explore the impact of height on erg performance it is important to first start by discussing rowing as a water sport. The 2k erg test is used to represent how a rower can perform on the water and is used to determine how physically fit an athlete is. Rowing is based upon various principles, some of the most important being the effectiveness of the stroke, stroke length and the horizontal drive of the athlete (Nolte, 2020). The effectiveness of the stroke is vital in maintaining the largest possible force throughout the entirety of an athlete’s performance and uses the athlete’s physiology in the most beneficial way. A larger force in rowing leads to more powerful strokes and therefore a faster boat speed. Stroke length is an important consideration in rowing, a longer stroke length is associated with a larger reaction force, which is responsible for pushing the boat in a forward direction through the water (Kleshnev V. , 2018). The third principle of rowing is the horizontal drive of the athlete, vertical movement is wasted in the rowing stroke so hands should be held as vertically as possible to create a more fluid sequence and maximise efficiency. It is important that athletes also consider how relaxed their body is and the fluidity of their movements (Hollings, 2015). To be relaxed in rowing, the athlete must try and keep their upper body loose and avoid tensing the shoulders, as this takes away from the horizontal movement of the drive. Moving fluidly helps with the rhythm in rowing and helps to avoid taking away from the boat speed. It’s important that crews move together in the boat and simplify their movements to maximise the ease at which they row at high rates, which are especially important in shorter distance races such as a 2k.

To fully consider rowing, we must break the rowing stroke down into the catch, drive, finish, and recovery (British Rowing, British Rowing Technique, 2023). The catch is the beginning of the drive. At this position, the athlete is leaning forward on the seat and their knees are bent so that their shins are vertical. They are closest to the stern of the boat and are seconds away from dropping their blade into the water. The drive is the phase of the stroke where the athlete’s power is used to push against the water around their blade and propel the boat past the blade’s point of entry. In this phase, the athlete straightens their legs, pushing against the footplate as hard as they can and keeping their arms straight for as long as possible before leaning back and bringing the blade handles into the body. The finish is the point at which the blades are pulled into the torso, resting at the bottom of the ribcage, with the legs entirely straight and the back open. The blades are now out of the water and resting against the surface. The recovery phase of the stroke begins with the athlete “tapping down” to draw their blade up out of the water to prevent it from skimming against it, lessening the athlete’s chance of getting their blade stuck in the water (US Rowing, 2023). Once this has happened the athlete brings their arms forward, straightening them, and holds their knees down until their hands have passed them, sliding on their seat. At this point the athlete can bend their legs and move their body towards the footplate causing them to accelerate towards the stern.

Figure 1 The Stroke (Bainbridge Island Rowing, 2018)

Catch

Drive

Finish

Recovery

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