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Rowing at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's eight

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Men's eight
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
Rowing pictogram
VenueHenley-on-Thames
Dates5–9 August
Competitors108 from 12 nations
Winning time5:56.7
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s)  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Great Britain
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Norway
← 1936
1952 →
Rowing at the
1948 Summer Olympics
Single scullsmen
Double scullsmen
Coxless pairmen
Coxed pairmen
Coxless fourmen
Coxed fourmen
Eightmen

The men's eight competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics took place at Henley-on-Thames, near London.[1] It was held from 5 to 9 August.[2] There were 12 boats (108 competitors) from 12 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event.[2] The event was won by the United States, the nation's sixth consecutive and eighth overall gold medal in the men's eight; the Americans had won every time they competed (missing 1908 and 1912). Great Britain, the only other nation to have won in the event, finished second for its first medal in the event since 1928. Norway took bronze, its first medal in the men's eight since 1920.

Background

[edit]

This was the 10th appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The men's eight has been held every time that rowing has been contested, beginning in 1900.[2]

The United States was the dominant nation in the event, with the nation winning the previous five Olympic men's eight competitions (as well as the other two competitions which the United States had entered). The American squad this year came from the University of California, Berkeley. Their primary challenger was Great Britain, represented by the Thames Rowing Club, the 1948 Grand Challenge Cup winners. Italy, the two-time reigning silver medalists, had won the 1947 European Rowing Championships.[2]

Ireland and Portugal each made their debut in the event. Canada, Great Britain, and the United States each made their eighth appearance, tied for most among nations to that point.

Competition format

[edit]

The "eight" event featured nine-person boats, with eight rowers and a coxswain. It was a sweep rowing event, with the rowers each having one oar (and thus each rowing on one side).

The venue, Henley-on-Thames, imposed certain restrictions and modifications to the format. The course could handle only three boats at a time (and this required expansion of the typical Henley course), so the six-boat final introduced in 1936 was not possible this time.[3] The course distance was also modified; instead of either the 2000 metres distance that was standard for the Olympics or the 1 mile 550 yards (2112 metres) standard at Henley, a course that was somewhat shorter than either was used. Sources disagree on the exact distance: 1929 metres is listed by the Official Report,[3][2] though other sources say 1850 metres.[4]

The 1948 competition had four rounds: three main rounds (quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final) as well as a repechage after the quarterfinals.

  • The 12 boats were divided into 4 heats of 3 boats each for the quarterfinals. The winner of each heat (4 total) advanced directly to the semifinals, while the 2nd and 3rd place boats (8 total) went to the repechage.
  • The repechage had 8 boats. They were placed in 3 heats, with 2 or 3 boats each. The winner of each repechage heat (3 boats) rejoined the quarterfinal winners in the semifinals, with the other boats (5 total) eliminated.
  • The semifinals placed the 7 boats in 3 heats, with 2 or 3 boats per heat. The winner of each heat (3 boats total) advanced to the final, while the other boats (4 total) were eliminated.
  • The final round consisted of a single final for the medals.

Schedule

[edit]

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Thursday, 5 August 1948 Quarterfinals
Friday, 6 August 1948 Repechage
Saturday, 7 August 1948 15:45 Semifinals
Monday, 9 August 1948 18:00 Final

Results

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Quarterfinals

[edit]

The first boat in each heat advanced directly to the semifinals. The other boats competed again in the repechage for the remaining spots in the semifinals.

Quarterfinal 1

[edit]
Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Jack Dearlove  Great Britain 6:05.3 Q
2
Sigurd Monssen  Norway 6:08.2 R
3
Niels Wamberg  Denmark 6:17.6 R

Quarterfinal 2

[edit]
Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Alessandro Bardelli  Italy 6:03.8 Q
2
Otto Vonlaufen  Switzerland 6:06.9 R
3
Manuel Fernández  Argentina 6:10.5 R

Quarterfinal 3

[edit]
Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Walt Robertson  Canada 6:07.2 Q
2
Luís Machado  Portugal 6:10.5 R
3
Denis Sugrue  Ireland 6:30.6 R

Quarterfinal 4

[edit]
Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Ralph Purchase  United States 5:59.1 Q
2
Predrag Sarić  Yugoslavia 6:16.2 R
3
Robert Léon  France 6:18.1 R

Repechage

[edit]

The winner of each race advanced to the semifinals, while the other boats were eliminated.

Repechage heat 1

[edit]
Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Luís Machado  Portugal 6:11.3 Q
2
Manuel Fernández  Argentina 6:12.6
3
Predrag Sarić  Yugoslavia 6:19.1

Repechage heat 2

[edit]
Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Otto Vonlaufen  Switzerland 6:07.3 Q
2
Niels Wamberg  Denmark 6:09.4
—
Robert Léon  France DNS

Repechage heat 3

[edit]
Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Sigurd Monssen  Norway 6:12.5 Q
2
Denis Sugrue  Ireland 6:32.5

Semifinals

[edit]

The winner of each race advanced to the final, while the other boats were eliminated.

Semifinal 1

[edit]
Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Ralph Purchase  United States 6:36.5 Q
2
Alessandro Bardelli  Italy 6:52.1
3
Otto Vonlaufen  Switzerland 7:03.0

Semifinal 2

[edit]
Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Jack Dearlove  Great Britain 6:38.1 Q
2
Walt Robertson (cox)  Canada 6:44.1

Semifinal 3

[edit]
Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Sigurd Monssen  Norway 6:43.9 Q
2
Luís Machado  Portugal 6:49.9

Final

[edit]
Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s)
Ralph Purchase  United States 5:56.7
2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Jack Dearlove  Great Britain 6:06.9
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Sigurd Monssen  Norway 6:10.3

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Rowing at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's Coxed Eights". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Eight, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b Official Report, p. 418.
  4. ^ "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
[edit]
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