Rowing at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's coxed four
| Men's coxed four at the Games of the XVI Olympiad | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Lake Wendouree |
| Date | 23–27 November |
| Competitors | 50 from 10 nations |
| Teams | 10 |
| Winning time | 7:19.4 |
| Medalists | |
| Rowing at the 1956 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single sculls | men |
| Double sculls | men |
| Coxless pair | men |
| Coxed pair | men |
| Coxless four | men |
| Coxed four | men |
| Eight | men |
The men's coxed four competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Wendouree, Ballarat, Australia. It was held from 23 to 27 November and was won by the team from Italy.[1]
Background
There was no clear favourite for the event. No nation had won the European Rowing Championships since the previous Olympic Games more than once. Only the Soviet Union had won a European Rowing Championship medal twice since 1952. Italy had come third at the 1956 European Rowing Championships.[1]
The competition venue had five lanes, but the organising committee had restricted races to four teams. This allowed for changing wind conditions, where the most affected lane could be left unused.[2] Ten teams from ten nations attended the competition.[1] On all days, the coxed four were the first races held of the day.[3]
Results
Heats
Three heats were rowed on 23 November.[4] Two of the heats had three teams and one had four teams, with the first two teams to qualify for the semi-final, and the remaining teams progressing to the round one repechage.[5]
Heat 1
| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alberto Winkler Romano Sgheiz Angelo Vanzin Franco Trincavelli Ivo Stefanoni |
 Italy
|
7:00.0 | SF |
| 2 | Andrey Arkhipov Yury Popov Valentin Zanin Yaroslav Cherstvy Anatoly Fetisov |
 Soviet Union
|
7:07.5 | SF |
| 3 | Peter Lucas Ray Laurent Donald Gemmell Allan Tong Colin Johnstone |
 New Zealand
|
7:16.2 | R |
Heat 2
| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olle Larsson Gösta Eriksson Ivar Aronsson Evert Gunnarsson Bertil Göransson |
 Sweden
|
6:57.9 | SF |
| 2 | Elo Tostenæs Mogens Sørensen Børge Hansen Tage Grøndahl John Vilhelmsen |
 Denmark
|
7:05.3 | SF |
| 3 | Kauko Hänninen Reino Poutanen Veli Lehtelä Toimi Pitkänen Matti Niemi |
 Finland
|
7:16.2 | R |
Heat 3
| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Wynne Douglas Turner James McMullen Ronald Cardwell Edward Masterson |
 United States
|
7:01.8 | SF |
| 2 | Gordon Cowey Kevin McMahon Reg Libbis Mick Allen John Jenkinson |
 Australia
|
7:01.9 | SF |
| 3 | André Richer Ruy Kopper Nelson Guarda José de Carvalho Filho Sylvio de Souza |
 Brazil
|
7:13.9 | R |
| 4 | José Roa Enrique Torres José Romero Santos José Hurdado Virgilio Ara |
 Cuba
|
7:14.3 | R |
Repechage
Four boats competed in the one repechage on 24 November in two heats, with the winner qualifying for the semi-final.[6][7]
Heat 1
| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peter Lucas Ray Laurent Donald Gemmell Allan Tong Colin Johnstone |
New Zealand
|
7:16.6 | SF |
| 2 | José Roa Enrique Torres José Romero Santos José Hurdado Virgilio Ara |
Cuba
|
7:28.2 |
Heat 2
| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kauko Hänninen Reino Poutanen Veli Lehtelä Toimi Pitkänen Matti Niemi |
Finland
|
7:09.8 | SF |
| 2 | André Richer Ruy Kopper Nelson Guarda José de Carvalho Filho Sylvio de Souza |
Brazil
|
7:25.7 |
Semi-finals
Two heats were rowed in the semi-finals on 26 November, with the top two teams qualifying for the final.[6][8]
Heat 1
| Rank | Rower | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alberto Winkler Romano Sgheiz Angelo Vanzin Franco Trincavelli Ivo Stefanoni |
Italy
|
7:54.4 | F |
| 2 | Gordon Cowey Kevin McMahon Reg Libbis Mick Allen John Jenkinson |
Australia
|
7:59.8 | F |
| 3 | Elo Tostenæs Mogens Sørensen Børge Hansen Tage Grøndahl John Vilhelmsen |
Denmark
|
8:08.4 | |
| 4 | Peter Lucas Ray Laurent Donald Gemmell Allan Tong Colin Johnstone |
New Zealand
|
8:30.7 |
Heat 2
Final
Four teams reached the final, which was decided in one race held on 27 November.[6][9] The team from Italy, which had won its heat and semi-final, won the final in an unremarkable race leading from start to finish.[10]
Notes
- ^ a b c Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Coxed Fours". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ^ Official Report of the Organising Committee 1958, p. 535.
- ^ Official Report of the Organising Committee 1958, p. 540.
- ^ Official Report of the Organising Committee 1958, p. 537.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Coxed Fours Round One". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
- ^ a b c Official Report of the Organising Committee 1958, p. 550.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Coxed Fours Round One Repêchage". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Coxed Fours Semi-Finals". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Coxed Fours Final Round". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-12-04. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
- ^ Official Report of the Organising Committee 1958, p. 539.
References
- The Official Report of the Organising Committee for the Games of the XVI Olympiad Melbourne 1956 (PDF) (PDF). Melbourne, Australia: W. M. Houston, Government Printer. 1958.