Rowing at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's coxed pair

The men's coxed pair competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place at Virgilio Uribe Rowing and Canoeing Course, in the Xochimilco borough of Mexico City.[1] It was held from 13 to 19 October.[2] There were 18 boats (54 competitors) from 18 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event.[2] The event was won by the Italian crew, rowers Primo Baran and Renzo Sambo and coxswain Bruno Cipolla; it was Italy's first victory in the event since 1920 and second overall (tying Switzerland for second-most among nations to that point). The Netherlands made the podium for the second consecutive Games, though with an all-new team: Herman Suselbeek, Hadriaan van Nes, and cox Roderick Rijnders took silver. A Danish boat medaled in the event for the first time since 1952, with Jørn Krab, Harry Jørgensen, and Preben Krab earning bronze. The American medal streak of three Games ended with the United States boat placing fifth.

Men's coxed pair
at the Games of the XIX Olympiad
The gold medalists, Renzo Sambo, Bruno Cipolla, and Primo Baran
VenueVirgilio Uribe Rowing and Canoeing Course
Dates13–19 October
Competitors54 from 18 nations
Winning time8:04.81
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Primo Baran
Renzo Sambo
Bruno Cipolla (cox)
 Italy
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Herman Suselbeek
Hadriaan van Nes
Roderick Rijnders (cox)
 Netherlands
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Jørn Krab
Harry Jørgensen
Preben Krab (cox)
 Denmark
← 1964
1972 →

Background

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This was the 12th appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The men's coxed pair was one of the original four events in 1900, but was not held in 1904, 1908, or 1912. It returned to the programme after World War I and was held every Games from 1924 to 1992, when it (along with the men's coxed four) was replaced with the men's lightweight double sculls and men's lightweight coxless four.[2]

One of the 18 competitors from the 1964 coxed pair Final A returned: Igor Rudakov, the veteran coxswain from the Soviet Union's 1960 silver-medal team and 1964 fourth-place team. The favorites were Italian rowers Primo Baran and Renzo Sambo; the two had won the 1967 European championship, taken silver at the 1965 European championship, and earned bronze at the 1966 World Championship. Baran and Sambo had a different cox for each of those results, with their Olympic teammate Bruno Cipolla having been on the 1967 championship crew. Hadriaan van Nes had been on the Dutch 1966 World Championship team, but came to Mexico City with a new rowing partner and new coxswain.[2]

Bulgaria, Cuba, Mexico, and Peru each made their debut in the event; East and West Germany competed separately for the first time. France and the United States each made their 10th appearance, tied for most among nations to that point.

Competition format

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The coxed pair event featured three-person boats, with two 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 course used the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912 (with the exception of 1948).[3] This rowing competition consisted of three main rounds (quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals), as well as a repechage round that allowed teams that did not win their quarterfinal heats to advance to the semifinals.

  • Heats: Three heats. With 18 boats entered, there were six boats per heat. The top two boats in each heat (total of 6 boats) advanced directly to the semifinals; all other boats (12 boats) went to the repechage.
  • Repechage: Two heats. There were 6 boats in each heat. The top three boats in each heat (total of 6 boats) advanced to the semifinals. The remaining boats (6 boats) were eliminated.
  • Semifinals: Two heats. Each heat consisted of 6 boats. The top three boats in each heat advanced to the final; the other three boats in each heat were sent to a 7th–12th place classification race.
  • Finals: A main final and a 7th–12th place classification race.

Schedule

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All times are Central Standard Time (UTC-6)

Date Time Round
Sunday, 13 October 1968 10:15 Quarterfinals
Tuesday, 15 October 1968 10:15 Repechage
Thursday, 17 October 1968 12:00 Semifinals
Friday, 18 October 1968 12:00 Final B
Saturday, 19 October 1968 10:30 Final A

Results

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Quarterfinals

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Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Ladislau Lovrenschi   Romania 8:13.31 Q
2 Lutz Benter   West Germany 8:19.78 Q
3 Filiberto Marco   Spain 8:33.45 R
4 Karel Kovář   Czechoslovakia 9:02.98 R
5 Luis Colman   Uruguay ST R
6 Igor Rudakov   Soviet Union ST R

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Veselin Staevski   Bulgaria 8:11.13 Q
2 Stewart MacDonald   United States 8:12.48 Q
3 Richard Lippi   France 8:12.88 R
4 Carlos Otero   Argentina 8:20.38 R
5 Jesús Rosello   Cuba 8:23.39 R
6 Beat Wirz   Switzerland 8:29.98 R

Quarterfinal 3

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The third heat featured all three eventual medalists (Italy, the Netherlands, and Denmark), though none won the heat—the East German boat that won the heat finished fourth overall.

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Klaus-Dieter Neubert   East Germany 8:01.82 Q
2 Bruno Cipolla   Italy 8:03.00 Q
3 Roderick Rijnders   Netherlands 8:18.78 R
4 Preben Krab   Denmark 8:21.42 R
5 Armando Castro   Mexico 8:28.41 R
6 Juan López   Peru 8:49.26 R

Repechage

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Repechage heat 1

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Roderick Rijnders   Netherlands 7:52.43 Q
2 Beat Wirz   Switzerland 8:01.57 Q
3 Carlos Otero   Argentina 8:03.62 Q
4 Armando Castro   Mexico 8:08.05
5 Luis Colman   Uruguay 8:11.88
6 Filiberto Marco   Spain 8:24.17

Repechage heat 2

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Preben Krab   Denmark 7:52.83 Q
2 Jesús Rosello   Cuba 7:57.01 Q
3 Igor Rudakov   Soviet Union 8:06.14 Q
4 Juan López   Peru 8:25.90 R
5 Richard Lippi   France ST R
6 Karel Kovář   Czechoslovakia ST R

Semifinals

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Semifinal 1

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Klaus-Dieter Neubert   East Germany 8:00.75 Q
2 Roderick Rijnders   Netherlands 8:01.19 Q
3 Stewart MacDonald   United States 8:03.74 Q
4
Ladislau Lovrenschi   Romania 8:05.52 C
5 Carlos Otero   Argentina 8:09.75 C
6 Jesús Rosello   Cuba 8:11.82 C

Semifinal 2

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Bruno Cipolla   Italy 7:59.95 Q
2 Preben Krab   Denmark 8:02.78 Q
3 Lutz Benter   West Germany 8:05.49 Q
4 Igor Rudakov   Soviet Union 8:06.39 C
5 Veselin Staevski   Bulgaria 8:06.41 C
6 Beat Wirz   Switzerland 8:55.81 C

Finals

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Final B

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time
7 Beat Wirz   Switzerland 7:57.21
8 Veselin Staevski   Bulgaria 7:58.10
9
Ladislau Lovrenschi   Romania 8:04.38
10 Jesús Rosello   Cuba 8:04.90
11 Carlos Otero   Argentina 8:06.91
12 Igor Rudakov   Soviet Union DNS

Final A

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time
  Bruno Cipolla   Italy 8:04.81
  Roderick Rijnders   Netherlands 8:06.80
  Preben Krab   Denmark 8:08.07
4 Klaus-Dieter Neubert   East Germany 8:08.22
5 Stewart MacDonald   United States 8:12.60
6 Lutz Benter   West Germany 8:41.51

References

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  1. ^ "Rowing at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games: Men's Coxed Pairs". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Coxed Pairs, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2021.