Rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's single sculls
# Rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's single sculls

Women's single sculls competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held between August 9 and 16, at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.

This rowing event is a single scull event, meaning that each boat is propelled by a single rower. The "scull" portion means that the rower uses two oars, one on each side of the boat; this contrasts with sweep rowing in which each rower has one oar and rows on only one side (not feasible for singles events!). The competition consists of multiple rounds. Finals were held to determine the placing of each boat; these finals were given letters with those nearer to the beginning of the alphabet meaning a better ranking. Semifinals were named based on which finals they fed, with each semifinal having two possible finals.

During the first round six heats were held. The top three boats in each heat advance to the quarterfinals, together with the 6 fastest of the remaining scullers, while all others are relegated to the E/F semifinals.

The quarterfinals were the second round for rowers still competing for medals. Placing in the quarterfinal heats determined which semifinal the boat would race in. The top three boats in each quarterfinal moved on to the A/B semifinals, with the bottom three boats going to the C/D semifinals.

Six semifinals were held, two each of A/B semifinals, C/D semifinals, and E/F semifinals. For each semifinal race, the top three boats moved on to the better of the two finals, while the bottom three boats went to the lesser of the two finals possible. For example, a second-place finish in an A/B semifinal would result in advancement to the A final.

The fourth and final round was the Finals. Each final determined a set of rankings. The A final determined the medals, along with the rest of the places through 6th. The B final gave rankings from 7th to 12th, the C from 13th to 18th, and so on. Thus, to win a medal rowers had to finish in the top four of their heat, top three of their quarterfinal, and top three of their A/B semifinal to reach the A final.

## Schedule

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)

| Date | Time | Round |
| - | - | - |
| Saturday, August 9, 2008 | 13:50-14:50 | Heats |
| Monday, August 11, 2008 | 15:30-16:10 | Quarterfinals |
| Wednesday, August 13, 2008 | 14:50-15:10 | Semifinals C/D |
| Wednesday, August 13, 2008 | 15:30-15:50 | Semifinals A/B |
| Friday, August 15, 2008 | 14:10-14:20 | Final E |
| Friday, August 15, 2008 | 14:30-14:40 | Final D |
| Friday, August 15, 2008 | 14:50-15:00 | Final C |
| Friday, August 15, 2008 | 16:50-17:00 | Final B |
| Saturday, August 16, 2008 | 15:30-15:40 | Final A |

## Results

### Heats

* Qualification Rules: 1-3->Q, 4..->Q or FE

**Heat 1**

| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Zhang Xiuyun | China | 7:38.16 | Q |
| 2 | Julia Michalska | Poland | 7:41.16 | Q |
| 3 | Sophie Balmary | France | 7:47.37 | Q |
| 4 | Gabriela Best | Argentina | 7:58.60 | Q |
| 5 | Soraya Jadue | Chile | 8:04.08 | Q |

**Heat 2**

| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Emma Twigg | New Zealand | 7:45.18 | Q |
| 2 | Iva Obradović | Serbia | 7:49.13 | Q |
| 3 | Nuria Domínguez | Spain | 7:58.03 | Q |
| 4 | Fabiana Beltrame | Brazil | 8:08.84 | Q |
| 5 | Lee Ka Man | Hong Kong | 8:23.02 | Q |

**Heat 3**

| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ekaterina Karsten | Belarus | 7:40.03 | Q |
| 2 | Michelle Guerette | United States | 7:49.14 | Q |
| 3 | Sin Yeong-eun | South Korea | 8:17.40 | Q |
| 4 | Inga Dudchenko | Kazakhstan | 8:28.24 | Q |

**Heat 4**

| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Rumyana Neykova | Bulgaria | 7:56.07 | Q |
| 2 | Mayra González | Cuba | 8:07.22 | Q |
| 3 | Rika Geyser | South Africa | 8:20.26 | Q |
| 4 | Shwe Zin Latt | Myanmar | 8:42.23 | Q |

**Heat 5**

| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Gabriella Bascelli | Italy | 7:43.67 | Q |
| 2 | Pippa Savage | Australia | 7:57.95 | Q |
| 3 | Camila Vargas | El Salvador | 8:32.06 | Q |
| 4 | Homa Hosseini | Iran | 9:02.12 | FE |

**Heat 6**

| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Miroslava Knapková | Czech Republic | 7:51.56 | Q |
| 2 | Frida Svensson | Sweden | 7:56.39 | Q |
| 3 | Elana Hill | Zimbabwe | 8:35.53 | Q |
| 4 | Heba Ahmed | Egypt | 8:46.96 | FE |

### Quarterfinals

* Qualification Rules: 1-3->SA/B, 4..->SC/D

**Quarterfinal 1**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Michelle Guerette | United States | 7:28.91 | SA/B |
| 2 | Julia Michalska | Poland | 7:31.90 | SA/B |
| 3 | Gabriella Bascelli | Italy | 7:36.68 | SA/B |
| 4 | Nuria Domínguez | Spain | 7:49.60 | SC/D |
| 5 | Inga Dudchenko | Kazakhstan | 8:15.88 | SC/D |
| 6 | Elana Hill | Zimbabwe | 8:20.84 | SC/D |

**Quarterfinal 2**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Miroslava Knapková | Czech Republic | 7:30.33 | SA/B |
| 2 | Sophie Balmary | France | 7:37.01 | SA/B |
| 3 | Iva Obradović | Serbia | 7:39.16 | SA/B |
| 4 | Mayra González | Cuba | 7:45.75 | SC/D |
| 5 | Camila Vargas | El Salvador | 8:11.79 | SC/D |
| 6 | Shwe Zin Latt | Myanmar | 8:17.76 | SC/D |

**Quarterfinal 3**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Rumyana Neykova | Bulgaria | 7:22.37 | SA/B |
| 2 | Zhang Xiuyun | China | 7:23.30 | SA/B |
| 3 | Pippa Savage | Australia | 7:34.03 | SA/B |
| 4 | Soraya Jadue | Chile | 7:51.52 | SC/D |
| 5 | Fabiana Beltrame | Brazil | 7:52.65 | SC/D |
| 6 | Shin Yeong-eun | South Korea | 7:58.71 | SC/D |

**Quarterfinal 4**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ekaterina Karsten | Belarus | 7:25.74 | SA/B |
| 2 | Frida Svensson | Sweden | 7:29.29 | SA/B |
| 3 | Emma Twigg | New Zealand | 7:34.24 | SA/B |
| 4 | Rika Geyser | South Africa | 7:44.14 | SC/D |
| 5 | Gabriela Best | Argentina | 7:46.45 | SC/D |
| 6 | Lee Ka Man | Hong Kong | 8:04.68 | SC/D |

### Semifinals C/D

* Qualification Rules: 1-3->FC, 4-5->FD, 6..->FE

**Semifinal C/D 1**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Mayra González | Cuba | 8:02.10 | FC |
| 2 | Nuria Domínguez | Spain | 8:03.61 | FC |
| 3 | Gabriela Best | Argentina | 8:09.61 | FC |
| 4 | Fabiana Beltrame | Brazil | 8:13.01 | FD |
| 5 | Shin Yeong-eun | South Korea | 8:23.62 | FD |
| 6 | Elana Hill | Zimbabwe | 8:34.27 | FE |

**Semifinal C/D 2**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Rika Geyser | South Africa | 7:59.67 | FC |
| 2 | Soraya Jadue | Chile | 8:13.67 | FC |
| 3 | Inga Dudchenko | Kazakhstan | 8:16.95 | FC |
| 4 | Camila Vargas | El Salvador | 8:22.35 | FD |
| 5 | Shwe Zin Latt | Myanmar | 8:24.23 | FD |
| 6 | Lee Ka Man | Hong Kong | 8:30.80 | FE |

### Semifinals A/B

* Qualification Rules: 1-3->FA, 4..->FB

**Semifinal A/B 1**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Zhang Xiuyun | China | 7:31.33 | FA |
| 2 | Michelle Guerette | United States | 7:35.69 | FA |
| 3 | Miroslava Knapková | Czech Republic | 7:38.14 | FA |
| 4 | Gabriella Bascelli | Italy | 7:42.10 | FB |
| 5 | Pippa Savage | Australia | 7:43.98 | FB |
| 6 | Frida Svensson | Sweden | 7:46.38 | FB |

**Semifinal A/B 2**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Ekaterina Karsten | Belarus | 7:32.86 | FA |
| 2 | Rumyana Neykova | Bulgaria | 7:33.29 | FA |
| 3 | Julia Michalska | Poland | 7:38.04 | FA |
| 4 | Emma Twigg | New Zealand | 7:38.09 | FB |
| 5 | Iva Obradović | Serbia | 7:52.39 | FB |
| 6 | Sophie Balmary | France | 7:56.73 | FB |

### Finals

**Final E**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Lee Ka Man | Hong Kong | 7:56.07 |
| 2 | Heba Ahmed | Egypt | 8:07.10 |
| 3 | Elana Hill | Zimbabwe | 8:09.94 |
| 4 | Homa Hosseini | Iran | 8:18.20 |

**Final D**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Fabiana Beltrame | Brazil | 7:43.04 |
| 2 | Shin Yeong-eun | South Korea | 7:48.31 |
| 3 | Shwe Zin Latt | Myanmar | 8:00.05 |
| 4 | Camila Vargas | El Salvador | 8:02.91 |

**Final C**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Rika Geyser | South Africa | 7:35.06 |
| 2 | Nuria Domínguez | Spain | 7:36.12 |
| 3 | Mayra González | Cuba | 7:42.68 |
| 4 | Gabriela Best | Argentina | 7:45.21 |
| 5 | Soraya Jadue | Chile | 7:48.35 |
| 6 | Inga Dudchenko | Kazakhstan | 8:16.09 |

**Final B**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Frida Svensson | Sweden | 7:48.19 |
| 2 | Gabriella Bascelli | Italy | 7:48.91 |
| 3 | Emma Twigg | New Zealand | 7:51.63 |
| 4 | Pippa Savage | Australia | 7:53.43 |
| 5 | Iva Obradović | Serbia | 7:53.83 |
| 6 | Sophie Balmary | France | 7:58.88 |

**Final A**

| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time |
| - | - | - | - |
| | Rumyana Neykova | Bulgaria | 7:22.34 |
| | Michelle Guerette | United States | 7:22.78 |
| | Ekaterina Karsten | Belarus | 7:23.98 |
| 4 | Zhang Xiuyun | China | 7:25.48 |
| 5 | Miroslava Knapková | Czech Republic | 7:35.52 |
| 6 | Julia Michalska | Poland | 7:43.44 |
