Wikipedia

Rowing at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's coxed four

The men's coxed four competition at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich took place from 27 August to 2 September at the Olympic Reggatta Course in Oberschleißheim.[1] There were 14 boats (70 competitors) from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event.[2] The event was won by West Germany; it was the nation's first medal as a separate team, but the third time in four Games that a West German crew had won gold (with crews from West Germany winning in 1960 and 1964 under the flag of the United Team of Germany). East Germany repeated as silver medallists, though with a new crew. Bronze went to Czechoslovakia, the nation's first medal in the men's coxed four since 1952.

Men's coxed four
at the Games of the XX Olympiad
Aerial view of the venue in Oberschleißheim
VenueOberschleißheim Regatta Course
Dates27 August – 2 September
Competitors70 from 14 nations
Winning time6:31.85
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s)  West Germany
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  East Germany
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Czechoslovakia
← 1968
1976 →

Background edit

This was the 14th appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The coxed four was one of the four initial events introduced in 1900. It was not held in 1904 or 1908, but was held at every Games from 1912 to 1992 when it (along with the men's coxed pair) was replaced with the men's lightweight double sculls and men's lightweight coxless four.[2]

New Zealand's victory at the 1968 Olympics had been a surprise; teams from both East and West Germany had been dominant before then (winning the 1960 and 1964 Olympics, 1962 and 1966 World Championships, and most of the European championships). The Germans continued their form between Mexico City and Munich, with West Germany winning and East Germany the runner-up at the 1970 World Championship, along with both the 1969 and 1971 European championships. The two German crews were heavily favoured again at the 1972 Games.[2]

For the third time in five Games, no nations made their debut in the event. The United States made its 12th appearance, most among nations to that point.

Competition format edit

The coxed four event featured five-person boats, with four 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 competition used the 2000 metres distance that became standard at the 1912 Olympics and which has been used ever since except at the 1948 Games.[3]

The tournament used the four-round format (three main rounds and a repechage) that had been used in 1968. The competition continued to use the six-boat heat standardised in 1960 as well as the "B" final for ranking 7th through 12th place introduced in 1964.

  • Quarterfinals: Three heats of 4 or 5 boats each. The top three boats in each heat (9 total) advanced directly to the semifinals. The remaining boats (5 total) went to the repechage.
  • Repechage: One heat of 5 boats each. The top three boats rejoined the quarterfinal winners in the semifinals. The other boats (2 total) were eliminated.
  • Semifinals: Two heats of 6 boats each. The top three boats in each heat (6 total) advanced to Final A, the remaining boats (6 total) went to Final B.
  • Final: Two finals. Final A consisted of the top 6 boats. Final B placed boats 7 through 12.

Schedule edit

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Sunday, 27 August 1972 14:00 Quarterfinals
Tuesday, 29 August 1972 9:00 Repechage
Thursday, 31 August 1972 11:30 Semifinals
Friday, 1 September 1972 10:00 Final B
Saturday, 2 September 1972 10:00 Final A

Results edit

Quarterfinals edit

The top three of each heat advanced to the semifinal round; the remainder went to the repechage.

Quarterfinal 1 edit

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Uwe Benter   West Germany 6:46.66 Q
2
Igor Rudakov   Soviet Union 6:50.21 Q
3
Peter Lindsay   New Zealand 6:51.76 Q
4
Stewart MacDonald   United States 6:56.01 R
5
Jørgen Cappelen   Norway 7:05.75 R

Quarterfinal 2 edit

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Rolf Stadelmann   Switzerland 6:53.30 Q
2
Alberto Cecchi   Italy 6:53.59 Q
3
Patrick Sweeney   Great Britain 6:57.33 Q
4
Vern Bowrey   Australia 7:07.00 R
5
Kim Wind   Denmark 7:08.22 R

Quarterfinal 3 edit

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Klaus-Dieter Ludwig   East Germany 6:44.57 Q
2
Vladimír Petříček   Czechoslovakia 6:49.41 Q
3
Kees de Korver   Netherlands 6:53.30 Q
4
Michael Conway   Canada 7:01.52 R

Repechage edit

The top three finishers advanced to the semifinal round.

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Stewart MacDonald   United States 7:02.68 Q
2
Michael Conway   Canada 7:04.35 Q
3
Jørgen Cappelen   Norway 7:05.09 Q
4
Vern Bowrey   Australia 7:07.08
5
Kim Wind   Denmark 7:19.67

Semifinals edit

First three qualify to the Final A, remainder to Final B.

Semifinal 1 edit

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Uwe Benter   West Germany 7:19.43 QA
2
Vladimír Petříček   Czechoslovakia 7:20.95 QA
3
Peter Lindsay   New Zealand 7:21.94 QA
4
Rolf Stadelmann   Switzerland 7:28.25 QB
5
Jørgen Cappelen   Norway 7:32.51 QB
6
Patrick Sweeney   Great Britain 7:35.11 QB

Semifinal 2 edit

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Igor Rudakov   Soviet Union 7:09.08 QA
2
Klaus-Dieter Ludwig   East Germany 7:11.12 QA
3
Stewart MacDonald   United States 7:18.59 QA
4
Kees de Korver   Netherlands 7:23.66 QB
5
Michael Conway   Canada 7:31.90 QB
6
Alberto Cecchi   Italy 7:34.67 QB

Finals edit

Final B edit

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time
7
Kees de Korver   Netherlands 7:05.83
8
Rolf Stadelmann   Switzerland 7:07.80
9
Jørgen Cappelen   Norway 7:07.85
10
Patrick Sweeney   Great Britain 7:12.14
11
Alberto Cecchi   Italy 7:13.03
12
Michael Conway   Canada 7:16.13

Final A edit

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time
 
Uwe Benter   West Germany 6:31.85
 
Klaus-Dieter Ludwig   East Germany 6:33.30
 
Vladimír Petříček   Czechoslovakia 6:35.64
4
Igor Rudakov   Soviet Union 6:37.71
5
Stewart MacDonald   United States 6:41.86
6
Peter Lindsay   New Zealand 6:42.55

References edit

  1. ^ "Rowing at the 1972 Munich Summer Games: Men's Coxed Fours". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Coxed Fours, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2021.

External links edit

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