Heavyweight

Heavyweight rowers of both sexes tend to be very tall, broadshouldered, have long arms and legs as well as tremendous cardiovascular capacity and very low body fat ratios. Olympic or International level heavyweight male oarsmen are typically anywhere between 190 cm and 206 cm 63 to 69 tall with most being around 198 cm 66 and weighing approximately 102 kg 225 lb with about 6 to 7% body fat.Heavyweight women are slightly shorter at around 186 cm 61 and lighter than their male counterparts.

Some rowing enthusiasts claim that the disproportionate number of tall rowers is simply due to the unfair advantage that tall rowers have on the ergometer. This is due to the ergometers inability to properly simulate the larger rowers drag on a boat due to weight. Since the ergometer is used to assess potential rowers, results on the ergometer machine play a large role in a rowers career success. However, since crew selection has favored tall rowers long before the advent of the ergometer,and bigger, taller crews are almost universally faster than smaller, shorter crews on the water, being tall is a definite advantage ultimately having little to do with the ergometer.