Sports: Canoe sprint and rowing

Set in a 400-acre park within a nature conservation area, Eton Dorney Rowing Centre at Dorney Lake is acclaimed as one of the finest rowing venues in the world.

Located around 25?miles west of London, it has?hosted both elite-level competitions and community events.

The design and build

The venue has a 2,200m, eight-lane rowing course, warm-up lanes and competition facilities. Although the facilities were already world-class, improvements were needed to ensure the venue met the particular requirements of the Games.

An additional cut-through has been created at the 1,400m mark to allow competitors to get from the return lane to the competition course. Previously the only cut-through was at the 600m mark.

Two bridges have also been installed. The first spans the new cut-through, while the other has replaced the existing finish line bridge with a wider one.

The improvement works were completed in less than one year in spring 2010.

After the Games

Eton Dorney will continue to be used as a world-class training and competition facility.