The Olympic regattas at the Los Angeles 2028 Games are shaping up to be an unusual kind of event. The International Rowing Federation (World Rowing) announced this to its member federations at its latest congress, held on Saturday 6 November in virtual mode: the Council of the body voted in favour of the LA28 Games organising committee’s proposal to move the competition site to the Long Beach Marine Stadium (photo above), at the centre of the venue. It was originally planned for Lake Louise, more than 100km from Los Angeles and the athletes’ village. This change will have the advantage of keeping rowing at the heart of the event, on a historic site, the scene of the Olympic regattas at the Los Angeles Games in 1932. But it will not be without effect on the running of the events. Because of the small size of the Long Beach basin, the Los Angeles Games regattas were held over a distance of 1,500m, rather than the 2,000m required by World Rowing rules. As a result, the Olympic qualifying events in 2028 will be held over the 1,500m distance. All other international competitions of the Olympiad, including the World Championships, will continue to be held in the usual 2,000m format.
