been conducted at the Olympic Games since 1900 (canceled at the first modern Games in 1896 due to bad weather). Strong rowing nations include Great Britain, the United States, Italy, Netherlands, France, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and Romania. Well-known rowers of recent years include Sir Steve Redgrave (UK), who won Olympic golds in five successive Olympics; Sir Matthew Pinsent (UK), who won golds in four successive Olympics; James Tomkins (Australia), three times Olympic gold medalist; Rob Waddell (New Zealand) and Xeno Müller (Switzerland), opponents in the single sculls. Women's For most of its history, rowing has been a male dominated sport. Although rowing’s roots as a sport in the modern Olympics can be traced back to the original 1896 games in Athens, it was not until the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal that women were allowed to participate – well after their fellow athletes in similar sports such as swimming, athletics, cycling, and canoeing. Women have competed in rowing events as far back as the fifteenth century. When Beatrice d'Este visited Venice in 1493, a regatta was held in which fifty peasant women competed. There were professional women rowers, referred to as Roddarmadam, managing and dominating the water ferry in the archipelago of the Swedish capital of Stockholm from the 15th century up until the late 19th century. Women’s rowing in modern times can be traced back to the early 19th century, and an image of a women’s double scull race made the cover of Harper’s Weekly in 1870 . In 1892 four young women (Zulette Lamb and Lena, Agnes, and Caroline Polhamus) started ZLAC Rowing Club in San Diego, California when they borrowed a boat and began rowing on San Diego Bay. The club considers itself the oldest all-women's rowing club in continuous existence in the world. Newnham College Boat Club was formed the following year in Cambridge, England. In 1927, the first Women's Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge universities was held (for the first few years it was an exhibition, and it later became a race). And in 1954, the women's events were added to the European Rowing Championships. In 1988, the first Henley Women's Regatta was held. On 27 April 1997, one of the last bastions of rowing was breached when, at an Extraordinary General Meeting, Leander Club voted to admit women as members. This rule met a condition imposed by UK Sport and qualified