7 November 2024

By Hélène Rémond

The Musée national de la Marine located in Brest, France, displays nearly 150 items (boats, equipment, outfits, Olympic medals, trophies, documents and souvenirs ) in an exhibition entitled « Jeux sur l’eau, en quête de victoires » (Water Sports, in Search of Victories) until March, 10th, 2025. Rowing is one of the sports featured.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Year has been an opportunity to highlight the nautical component of the Games and its five major medal-winning disciplines: sailing, surfing, motorboating, canoeing and kayaking as well as rowing. The museum thus raises public awareness about these sports which are not well known.

The museum highlights the history of these sports through a panorama of the Olympic Games, from 1896 to 2024. After immersing visitors in the world of this major international competition (the first Games in Athens, the women’s participation, the list of new sports, the Paralympic Games), the tour looks back at each of the five sports (the key figures, the role of clubs and federations, and the stakes involved in winning). There is a special focus on the maritime excellence of Brest and Brittany in general, which is referred to as a “land of champions”.

The visitors are reminded that rowing was on the programme of the first modern Games in 1896, but unfortunately, the competition was not held because of bad weather.

Among the items collected in the “Rowing section”, you will find a rolling toy skiff.

There is also an old ergometer made out of metal, cord and wood.