The 2019 World Rowing Championships were held in Ottensheim, Austria from 25 August to 1 September 2019.

[1] Apart from Ottensheim, the right to host the championships was contested by Hamburg in Germany, Račice in the Czech Republic, and Varese in Italy.

[2] The event determined the majority of qualifiers to the rowing competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan.

[3][4] On 21 August, three days before the championships, pararower Dzmitry Ryshkevich from Belarus died after he capsized during a training session.

He was expected to participate in the PR1M1x at his third consecutive championships.