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Rowing at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's single sculls

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Men's single sculls
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
Gold medalist Mervyn Wood (1952)
VenueHenley-on-Thames
Date5–9 August
Competitors14 from 14 nations
Winning time7:24.4
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Mervyn Wood
 Australia
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Eduardo Risso
 Uruguay
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Romolo Catasta
 Italy
← 1936
1952 →

The men's single sculls competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics took place at Henley-on-Thames, London, United Kingdom. The event was held from 5 to 9 August.[1] There were 14 competitors from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event.[2] The event was won by Mervyn Wood of Australia, the nation's third victory in four Games (Bobby Pearce had won in 1928 and 1932). Eduardo Risso's silver was Uruguay's second medal in the event, after a bronze in 1932. Italy received its first men's single sculls medal with Romolo Catasta's bronze. The United States had its five-Games podium streak in the event ended, as John B. Kelly Jr. lost his semifinal by 0.4 seconds and did not advance to the final.

Background

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

None of the 20 single scullers from the pre-war 1936 Games returned, though Australia's Mervyn Wood had been on the eight team. The three post-war Diamond Challenge Sculls champions were all competing: Wood (1948) was the reigning winner, with Jean Séphériadès of France (1946) and John B. Kelly Jr. of the United States (1947) the previous title holders. Séphériadès was also the 1947 European champion. Kelly was the son of 1920 Olympic champion John B. Kelly Sr. (who had famously been excluded from the Diamond Challenge Sculls).[2]

Egypt and Greece each made their debut in the event. Great Britain made its ninth appearance, most among nations, having missed only the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

Competition format

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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 format was largely similar to the 1936 Games, though with the three-boats-per-race limit. There were four rounds: quarterfinals, a repechage, semifinals, and a final.

  • Quarterfinals: There were 5 heats of 2 or 3 boats each. The winner of each advanced to the semifinals, while all other boats went to the repechage.
  • Repechage: The 9 boats were placed in 3 heats of 3 boats each. Again, the winner of each advanced to the semifinals; the remaining 6 boats were eliminated.
  • Semifinals: The remaining 8 boats competed in unbalanced semifinals: 2 heats had 3 boats, while the last heat had 2. Only the winners advanced, with the other 5 boats eliminated.
  • Final: The final featured the three medalists racing to determine which color each would receive.

Schedule

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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 11:45 Semifinals
Monday, 9 August 1948 15:30 Final

Results

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Quarterfinals

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The first rower in each heat advanced directly to the semifinals. The others competed again in the repechage for remaining spots in the semifinals.

Quarterfinal 1

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Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Mervyn Wood  Australia 7:25.9 Q
2 Eduardo Risso  Uruguay 7:36.3 R
3 Ian Stephen  South Africa 7:38.3 R

Quarterfinal 2

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Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Antony Rowe  Great Britain 7:30.5 Q
2 Hans Jakob Keller  Switzerland 7:34.2 R
3 Dragutin Petrovečki  Yugoslavia 8:17.3 R

Quarterfinal 3

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Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 John B. Kelly Jr.  United States 7:39.7 Q
2 Curt Brunnqvist  Sweden 7:47.2 R
3 Juan Omedes  Spain 7:52.1 R

Quarterfinal 4

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Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Jean Séphériadès  France 7:34.3 Q
2 Tranquilo Cappozzo  Argentina 7:38.9 R
3 Mohamed El-Sayed  Egypt 8:01.4 R

Quarterfinal 5

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No official time was recorded in this heat.

Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Romolo Catasta  Italy Unknown Q
2 Faidon Matthaiou  Greece Unknown R

Repechage

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The winner of each race advanced to the semifinals; the other rowers are eliminated.

Repechage heat 1

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Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Tranquilo Cappozzo  Argentina 7:45.0 Q
2 Juan Omedes  Spain 7:57.3
3 Faidon Matthaiou  Greece 8:13.9

Repechage heat 2

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Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Eduardo Risso  Uruguay 7:24.4 Q
2 Hans Jakob Keller  Switzerland 7:25.1
3 Curt Brunnqvist  Sweden 7:27.0

Repechage heat 3

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Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Ian Stephen  South Africa 7:35.6 Q
2 Mohamed El-Sayed  Egypt 7:44.8
3 Dragutin Petrovečki  Yugoslavia 8:17.3

Semifinals

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The winner of each race advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

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Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Romolo Catasta  Italy 8:05.4 Q
2 Tranquilo Cappozzo  Argentina 8:12.6
3 Ian Stephen  South Africa DNS

Semifinal 2

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Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Eduardo Risso  Uruguay 8:09.3 Q
2 John B. Kelly Jr.  United States 8:09.7
3 Antony Rowe  Great Britain 8:22.8

Semifinal 3

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Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Mervyn Wood  Australia 8:08.5 Q
2 Jean Séphériadès  France 8:17.1

Final

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Rank Rower Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s) Mervyn Wood  Australia 7:24.4
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Eduardo Risso  Uruguay 7:38.2
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Romolo Catasta  Italy 7:51.4

Results summary

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Rank Rower Nation Quarterfinals Repechage Semifinals Final
1st place, gold medalist(s) Mervyn Wood  Australia 7:25.9 Bye 8:08.5 7:24.4
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Eduardo Risso  Uruguay 7:36.3 7:24.4 8:09.3 7:38.2
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Romolo Catasta  Italy Unknown Bye 8:05.4 7:51.4
4 John B. Kelly Jr.  United States 7:39.7 Bye 8:09.7 Did not advance
5 Tranquilo Cappozzo  Argentina 7:38.9 7:45.0 8:12.6
6 Jean Séphériadès  France 7:34.3 Bye 8:17.1
7 Antony Rowe  Great Britain 7:30.5 Bye 8:22.8
8 Ian Stephen  South Africa 7:38.3 7:35.6 DNS
9 Hans Jakob Keller  Switzerland 7:34.2 7:25.1 Did not advance
10 Curt Brunnqvist  Sweden 7:47.2 7:27.0
11 Mohamed El-Sayed  Egypt 8:01.4 7:44.8
12 Juan Omedes  Spain 7:52.1 7:57.3
13 Faidon Matthaiou  Greece Unknown 8:13.9
14 Dragutin Petrovečki  Yugoslavia 8:17.3 8:17.3

References

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  1. ^ "Rowing at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's Single Sculls". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Single Sculls, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 26 April 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.
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