A total of 405 boats and 1,078 rowers representing a record 65 nations have entered the 2003 FISA World Rowing Championships, FISA – the international governing body for the sport of rowing – announced Wednesday. The championships, which run August 24-31, will be held on the waters of Idroscalo Park in Milan, Italy.
For the United States, 83 rowers will compete in the 24 events that make up the world championships. The U.S. roster includes 15 Olympians and 23 first-time senior national team members, while 41 team members have won a total of 80 medals at past world championships. The overall field includes 52 Olympic medalists and 58 2002 world champions.
On the men's side of the championships, the lightweight single sculls leads the way in total entries as 29 scullers will row for the world title in the event. The men's pair, men's single sculls and lightweight men's double sculls competitions have 28 entries a piece.
On the women's side, the lightweight double sculls competition has the most entries with 23. The lightweight women's single sculls has 21 entries, while 20 scullers have entered the women's single sculls. The defending world champion U.S. women's eight will face seven other crews as it tries to defend its title.
Racing begins at 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. EDT) on Sunday, August 24. Racing continues on Monday, August 25, with additional heats. Finals will be held August 30-31. Three boat classes - the lightweight men's eight, lightweight women's pair and women's four - have six or fewer entries. Consequently, the two events will not have elimination heats and will race in a finals-only format.
Entires By Boat Class
Women's Single Sculls - 20
Men's Single Sculls - 28
Women's Double Sculls - 16
Men's Double Sculls - 25
Women's Quadruple Sculls - 14
Men's Quadruple Sculls - 22
Lightweight Women's Single Sculls - 21
Lightweight Men's Single Sculls - 29
Lightweight Women's Double Sculls - 23
Lightweight Men's Double Sculls - 28
Lightweight Women's Quadruple Sculls - 10
Lightweight Men's Quadruple Sculls - 9
Women's Pair - 17
Men's Pair - 28
Men's Pair with Coxswain - 7
Men's Four - 24
Women's Four - 5
Men's Four with Coxswain - 10
Women's Eight - 8
Men's Eight - 16
Lightweight Men's Pair - 11
Lightweight Women's Pair - 6
Lightweight Men's Four - 22
Lightweight Men's Eight - 6