Sculling
Introduction
In this guide:
Sculling vs. Rowing: What's the Difference?
Many people confuse sculling with rowing, but they are two distinct disciplines: In rowing, each person uses a single oar to propel the boat forward; in sculling, each person uses two smaller oars—one in each hand—to row the boat. This means that the technique required in sculling is quite different from rowing, but the skills are complementary and the physiology effectively the same.
Still, sculling is the foundational discipline of modern rowing. The competitive sport of rowing has its roots in the Doggett's Coat and Badge—a race that has been run on the Thames River in London, England by the Thames Watermen since 1715.
Benefits of Sculling
Sculling has many benefits for both physical and mental health. Here are some of the most notable:
Full-body, balanced workout
Sculling requires the use of almost every muscle in your body, making it an excellent full-body workout. Also, unlike rowing, the sculling stroke is balanced: While rowing necessarily means you'll be pivoting out to one side of the boat or the other following the sweep of the oar, sculling encourages you to keep your bodyweight centered and avoids any overuse or overtraining of one side or the other.
Balance and coordination
Since sculling requires two oars, it also requires a greater degree of balance and coordination than rowing. This can help improve your overall balance and coordination in sweep boats, as well as in other areas of your life.
Low-impact exercise
Sculling, like all forms of rowing, is a low-impact exercise, which means it's easy on your joints and less likely to cause injury.
Why Learning How to Scull Can Make You a Better Rower
Improved balance and coordination
Sculling requires a greater degree of balance and coordination than rowing with a single oar. By learning how to scull, you can improve your overall balance and coordination, which can translate to better rowing technique.
Increased power and efficiency
Sculling requires you to use both arms and hands to propel the boat forward, which can help you develop greater power and efficiency in your rowing stroke. If you only row on one side throughout your career, without the balance of sculling (or at least the rowing machine on land), you're more at risk of developing musculoskeletal imbalances.
Greater understanding of the rowing stroke
Sculling requires a different technique than rowing with a single oar, which can help you develop a deeper understanding of the rowing stroke as a whole. Also, training in a single offers a kind of direct feedback you simply cannot get in a shared shell—every movement you make is directly and solely attributable to what you're doing, making it a great (and sometimes harsh) teacher.
Increased versatility
By learning how to scull, you can become a more versatile rower. This can be particularly useful in races where you may have the opportunity to switch between rowing with a single oar and sculling, or switching sides in a rowing boat (imagine if you didn't need to have separate lists of ports and starboards!).
Famous Scullers
There have been many influential sculling world champions and Olympians throughout history. Here are a few notable names:
Vyacheslav Ivanov
Vyacheslav Ivanov is a former Soviet Union and Russian sculler who won four Olympic gold medals in the single sculls event between 1960 and 1972. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest scullers of all time.
Pertti Karppinen
Pertti Karppinen was born on February 17, 1953, in Helsinki, Finland, and began rowing at the age of 13. He quickly became one of the top scullers in Finland, and in 1971, at the age of 18, he won his first Finnish National Championship.
Karppinen's international career began in 1972, when he competed in the Olympics in Munich, Germany. Although he did not win a medal, he impressed many with his natural talent and dedication to the sport. Over the next decade, Karppinen dominated the men's single sculls event, winning three Olympic gold medals in 1976, 1980, and 1984, as well as nine world championship titles.
Ekaterina Karsten
Ekaterina Karsten is a Belarusian sculler who has won six Olympic medals, including two golds, in the women's single sculls event. She is also a 14-time world champion, and arguably the best rower in the history of our sport.
Peter-Michael Kolbe
Peter-Michael Kolbe (featured in the 1984 Olympic Final video above racing against Karppinen) is a former German sculler who is widely regarded as one of the greatest scullers of all time. He was born on September 12, 1953, in Ulm, West Germany, and began rowing at the age of 13. In 1973, at the age of 20, he won his first world championship medal in the double sculls event.
Kolbe's international career reached its peak in the 1980s, when he dominated the men's single sculls. He won two Olympic medals in the event, including a gold medal in 1984 and a silver medal in 1988. He also won six world championship titles in the event between 1978 and 1987.
Olaf Tufte
Olaf Tufte is a Norwegian sculler who won four Olympic medals in men's sculling events, including two golds in the men's single in back-to-back Games (Athens, Beijing). He is also a five-time world champion.
Vaclav Chalupa
Vaclav Chalupa is a Czech sculler who won three Olympic gold medals in the men's double sculls event in 1996, 2000, and 2004. He is also a six-time world champion.
Kim Brennan (née Crow)
As we wrote in our RR picks for the top 10 athletes of the last decade: "Kim Brennan is one of the most impressive athletes ever in rowing—despite having a relatively short career in the sport, she belongs in the echelon of champions like Ekaterina Karsten and Elisabeta Lipă. Why’s that? In an era when no one (not even the Kiwi Pair) doubles up at the Olympic Games anymore, Brennan not only competed in two events in London 2012, but also won a medal in both the single and the double."
And, of course, she led the way throughout the journey to the Rio Games, winning two of three world titles en route to Olympic Gold in 2016.
Mahé Drysdale
Again, as we wrote in our rundown of the top 10 athletes of the 2010s, "Uncommon as it may be, 'Mahé' is a household name in rowing. And for good reason."
Mahé Drysdale was born on November 19, 1978, in Melbourne, Australia, but grew up in New Zealand and began rowing at the age of 18 while studying at the University of Auckland. Drysdale won his first world championship medal in the men's single sculls event in 2005. He went on to win five more world championship medals in the event in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013.
Drysdale is also a triple Olympic medalist, including back-to-back gold medals in London and Rio—the latter featuring one of the closest races ever in the final (see video above).
Gevvie Stone
Gevvie (Genevra) Stone is an American Olympic sculler who has had a successful and inspiring career in the sport of rowing. She was born on July 28, 1985, in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and began rowing at the age of 14. Stone quickly rose through the ranks of American rowing, competing throughout her undergrad years at Princeton, and established herself as a top-level sculler. She won her first world championship medal in the women's single sculls event in 2010 and went on to win two more world championship medals in the event in 2011 and 2013.
Stone's international career reached its peak at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she won a silver medal in the women's single sculls event. She narrowly missed out on the gold medal, finishing just 0.54 seconds behind the winner, Kim Brennan.
The Sinkovic Brothers
They made their international debut at the 2010 World Rowing Junior Championships, where they won a silver medal in the men's double sculls event.
The brothers went on to win numerous medals at the senior level, including multiple gold medals at the European and World Championships. Their Olympic appearances have been nothing short remarkable— after winning gold in the double sculls at the 2016 Rio Olympics, they switched disciplines to the coxless pair in 2020—and won gold again—becoming the first Croatian rowers to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals.
What makes the Sinkovic brothers remarkable is their versatility in the sport of rowing. They have competed and won medals in both the men's pair and men's double sculls events, which require different technical skills and physical attributes.
These athletes have not only achieved great success in sculling, but they have also helped to advance the sport and inspire future generations of scullers.
-RR
