Rowing

Beijing recap
For the first time since 1984, the U.S. women won gold in the eight. The U.S. men took home bronze, winner Canada and silver medalist Great Britain. Michelle Guerette wins silver in the women's single sculls, marking the first time an American has won a medal in the event since 1988. Bulgaria's Rumyana Neykova won gold. 

More on Olympic rowing

There are 14 rowing gold medals up for grabs at the London Games.

One of the most physically demanding Olympic sports, rowing is all about endurance. Each race is 2000 meters long, and rowers reach anywhere from 40 to 47 strokes per minute. With many different events, the number of competitors per boat, as well as the type of rowing varies.

There are two different types of rowing: sweeping and sculling. Sweeping, much like the name suggests, requires the use of one oar, with the athlete only rowing on one side of the boat. This is the type of rowing used in the esteemed men's and women's eight. Sculling, in turn, requires the use of two oars, one in each hand. Among the 14 different Olympic events eight are sculls and six are sweeps.

Here are a list of the Olympic events:

Sweep events
Men's eight with coxswain (M8+)
Women's eight with coxswain (W8+)
Men's Pair without Coxswain (M2-)
Women's Pair without Coxswain (W2-)
Men's Lightweight Four without Coxswain (LM4-)
Men's Four without Coxswain (M4-)

Scull events
Men's Single Sculls (M1x)
Women's Single Sculls (W1x)
Men's Lightweight Double Sculls (LM2x)
Men's Double Sculls (M2x)
Women's Double Sculls (W2x)
Lightweight Women's Double Sculls (LW2x)
Men's Quadruple Scull (M4x)
Women's Quadruple Scull (W4x)