[fullmetal]

The best lightweights have ironically always been light heavyweights cutting down to make weight.  The Tokyo Olympic men's single scull gold medalist is a former lightweight rower (at 6'2" ...the men's lightweight cutoff is about 160 lbs).  Now that lightweight rowing is no longer an Olympic event, the former lightweights are now racing the openweights and having some measure of success, though they are not dominating the top ranks by any means.

It's definitely true that the top lightweight rowers are extremely technically sound.  With physical parity among the top competitors, the only way to differentiate yourself is to row well and row better (more efficiently) than your competition.  The London Olympic men's lightweight four A Final is one of the best examples of how some measure of physical parity leads to extremely competitive and dramatic racing.

Stanford's lightweight women were a dynasty in 2010s, but then the program's near-death plus coaching changes reset the team's performance...they are trending upward for sure now.  I'll make another post about them.

edit: The Crew Classic is dealing with the shifting landscape of competitive entries. There are fewer and fewer top men's programs interested in racing at the Crew Classic for various reasons, and the same applies to the lightweight events. The Crew Classic would absolutely host the event if there were sufficient entries, but a one or two boat race just doesn't scream competitive value.

[fullmetal]

The best lightweights have ironically always been light heavyweights cutting down to make weight.  The Tokyo Olympic men's single scull gold medalist is a former lightweight rower (at 6'2" ...the men's lightweight cutoff is about 160 lbs).  Now that lightweight rowing is no longer an Olympic event, the former lightweights are now racing the openweights and having some measure of success, though they are not dominating the top ranks by any means.

It's definitely true that the top lightweight rowers are extremely technically sound.  With physical parity among the top competitors, the only way to differentiate yourself is to row well and row better (more efficiently) than your competition.  The London Olympic men's lightweight four A Final is one of the best examples of how some measure of physical parity leads to extremely competitive and dramatic racing.

Stanford's lightweight women were a dynasty in 2010s, but then the program's near-death plus coaching changes reset the team's performance...they are trending upward for sure now.  I'll make another post about them.

edit: The Crew Classic is dealing with the shifting landscape of competitive entries. There are fewer and fewer top men's programs interested in racing at the Crew Classic for various reasons, and the same applies to the lightweight events. The Crew Classic would absolutely host the event if there were sufficient entries, but a one or two boat race just doesn't scream competitive value.