List of world best times in rowing
There are no world records in rowing due to the huge variability that weather conditions can have on times. Instead, there are world best times, which are set over the international rowing distance of 2,000m.
On-water records
Rowing times are strongly affected by weather conditions, and to a lesser extent by water temperature – the majority of these times were set in warm water with a strong tailwind. World best rowing times have also decreased because of improvements in technology to both the boats and the oars, along with improvements in the conditioning of the rowers.Because environmental conditions have a strong impact on boat speed, World Rowing recognizes world best times instead of world records. A world best time is one recorded on a regatta course that has previously held the World Championships, Olympic Games, or World Cup since 1980. A number of record times were set at the World Rowing Championships">World Rowing Federation">World Rowing Championships held on the Nagara River at Kaizu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, but due to a fast current caused by heavy rainfall from the remnants of Typhoon Mawar, World Rowing declared that the race results were not eligible to be considered as world best times.
There is a category for lightweight rowing. For men, the crew average, wearing racing kit, cannot exceed and no rower may be over. For women, the limits are and.
Hamish Bond and Eric [Murray (rower)|Eric Murray] hold the record for most consecutive wins with 69.
Men
The greatest distance rowed in 24 hours is 342 km by Hannes Obreno, Pierre de Loof, Tim Brys, Mathieu Foucaud, Thijs Obreno, Giel Vanschoenbeek, Arjan van Belle and Thibaut Schollaert on the Watersportbaan in Ghent, Belgium, on 2–3 October 2014. All eight participants were members of a student rowing club called VSR.The greatest distance rowed in 1 hour is 17,555 m by the Delftse Studenten Roeiverening Proteus-Eretes during the Hour boat race on 17 December 2017.
Indoor records
These results are based on a standard distance of 2,000 meters.| Type | Category | Time | Split | Nation | Year | Name |
| SIR | Open Men | 5:35.8 | 1:23.9 |  |