Rowing at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Women's eight
The women's eight competition at the 1976 Summer Olympics took place at Notre Dame Island Olympic Basin, Canada. It was the first time the event was contested for women.
Competition format
The competition consisted of two main rounds as well as a repechage. The 8 boats were divided into two heats for the first round, with 4 boats in each heat. The winner of each heat advanced directly to the "A" final. The remaining 6 boats were placed in the repechage. A single repechage heat was held. The top 4 boats in the repechage went to the "A" final as well. The remaining 2 boats competed in the "B" final for 7th and 8th place.All races were over a 1000 metre course.
Results
Heats
Heat 1
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Olha Puhovska | 3:00.19 | |||
| 2 | Aneta Matei | 3:01.80 | |||
| 3 | Illoana Smith | 3:02.27 | |||
| 4 | Ingrid Huhn-Wagner | 3:04.14 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Marina Wilke | 3:01.20 | |||
| 2 | Lynn Silliman | 3:05.52 | |||
| 3 | Dorota Zdanowska | 3:06.67 | |||
| 4 | Evelien Koogje | 3:06.78 |
Repechage
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Lynn Silliman | 3:13.26 | |||
| 2 | Aneta Matei | 3:14.25 | |||
| 3 | Ingrid Huhn-Wagner | 3:15.16 | |||
| 4 | Illoana Smith | 3:16.44 | |||
| 5 | Dorota Zdanowska | 3:18.18 | |||
| 6 | Evelien Koogje | 3:21.44 |
Finals
Final B
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time |
| 7 | Dorota Zdanowska | 3:32.48 | ||
| 8 | Evelien Koogje | 3:35.87 |
Final A
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time |
| Marina Wilke | 3:33.32 | |||
| Olha Puhovska | 3:36.17 | |||
| Lynn Silliman | 3:38.68 | |||
| 4 | Illoana Smith | 3:39.52 | ||
| 5 | Ingrid Huhn-Wagner | 3:41.06 | ||
| 6 | Aneta Matei | 3:44.79 |
Final classification
| Rank | Rowers | Country |
| Viola Goretzki Christiane Knetsch Ilona Richter Brigitte Ahrenholz Monika Kallies Henrietta Ebert Helma Lehmann Irina Müller Marina Wilke | ||
| Lyubov Talalaeva Nadezhda Roshchina Klavdija Koženkova Olena Zubko Olha Kolkova Nelli Tarakanova Nadiya Rozhon Olha Huzenko Olha Puhovska | ||
| Jackie Zoch Anita DeFrantz Carie Graves Marion Greig Anne Warner Peggy McCarthy Carol Brown Gail Ricketson Lynn Silliman | ||
| 4 | Carol Eastmore Rhonda Ross Nancy Higgins Mazina Delure Susan Antoft Wendy Pullan Christine Neuland Gail Cort Illoana Smith | |
| 5 | Waltraud Roick Erika Endriss Monika Zipplies Birgit Kiesow Hiltrud Gürtler Isolde Eisele Marianne Weber Eva Dick Ingrid Huhn-Wagner | |
| 6 | Elena Oprea-Horvat Florica Petcu-Dospinescu Filigonia Tol Aurelia Marinescu Georgeta Militaru-Maşca Iuliana Munteanu Elena Avram Marioara Constantin Aneta Matei | |
| 7 | Anna Brandysiewicz Bogusława Kozłowska-Tomasiak Barbara Wenta-Wojciechowska Danuta Konkalec Róża Data Mieczysława Franczyk Maria Stadnicka Aleksandra Kaczyńska Dorota Zdanowska | |
| 8 | Karin Abma Joke Dierdorp Barbara de Jong Annette Schortinghuis-Poelenije Marleen van Rij Maria Kusters-ten Beitel Liesbeth Pascal-de Graaff Loes Schutte Evelien Koogje |