Rowing at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's single sculls

The men's single sculls competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place at Meilahti, Helsinki, Finland. The event was held from 20 to 23 July.[1] There were 18 competitors from 18 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event.[2] The event was won by Yuriy Tyukalov of the Soviet Union, in the nation's debut at the Games. Defending champion Mervyn Wood took silver, the fourth medal in five Games for Australia. Teodor Kocerka's bronze was Poland's first medal in the men's single sculls.

Men's single sculls
at the Games of the XV Olympiad
Silver medallist Mervyn Wood in 1952
VenueMeilahti
Date20–23 July
Competitors18 from 18 nations
Winning time8:12.8
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Yuriy Tyukalov
 Soviet Union
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Mervyn Wood
 Australia
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Teodor Kocerka
 Poland
← 1948
1956 →

Background

edit

This was the 11th 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]

Five of the 14 single scullers from the 1948 Games returned: gold medalist Mervyn Wood of Australia, silver medalist Eduardo Risso of Uruguay, fourth-place finisher John B. Kelly Jr. of the United States, eighth-place finisher Ian Stephen of South Africa, and twelfth-place finisher Juan Omedes of Spain. Wood had also won his second Diamond Challenge Sculls earlier in 1952 and was the favorite. Significant challengers included Risso, Kelly, Tony Fox of Great Britain (1951 Diamond Challenge winner), Paul Meyer of Switzerland, and Ian Stephen of South Africa.[2]

Chile, Saar, and the Soviet Union each made their debut in the event. Great Britain made its 10th appearance, most among nations, having missed only the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

Competition format

edit

This rowing event was a single scull event, meaning that each boat was propelled by a single rower. The "scull" portion means that the rower used two oars, one on each side of the boat. The course returned to the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912 (with the exception of 1948).[3]

The competition expanded from previous years to include a second repechage after the semifinals. This brought the tournament to five rounds total: quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final with two repechages after the first two rounds.

Four heats were held in the first round. The first two boats in each heat advanced to the semifinals, while the rest went to the first repechage. The repechage round also consisted of four heats. Only the winner of each heat advanced to the second repechage (these rowers did not compete in the semifinals). The winners of the two semifinal heats advanced directly to the final and the rest competed in the second repechage. Three heats were held in the second repechage, where the winner of each heat advanced to the final.

Schedule

edit

All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3)

Date Time Round
Monday, 21 July 1952  
9:00
 
Quarterfinals
First repechage
Semifinals
Tuesday, 22 July 1952 Second repechage
Wednesday, 23 July 1952 17:00 Final

Results

edit

Quarterfinals

edit

Quarterfinal 1

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Tony Fox   Great Britain 7:45.1 Q
2 Ian Stephen   South Africa 7:47.7 Q
3 Sevi Holmsten   Finland 7:52.1 R
4 Juan Omedes   Spain 8:03.1 R
5 Carlos Adueza   Chile 8:22.3 R

Quarterfinal 2

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Mervyn Wood   Australia 7:44.1 Q
2 Paul Meyer   Switzerland 7:44.5 Q
3 Günther Schütt   Saar 7:58.4 R
4 František Reich   Czechoslovakia 7:59.0 R
5 Henri Steenacker   Belgium 8:04.0 R

Quarterfinal 3

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 John B. Kelly Jr.   United States 7:58.4 Q
2 Teodor Kocerka   Poland 7:59.5 Q
3 Ugo Pifferi   Italy 8:09.0 R
4 Hussein El-Alfy   Egypt 8:33.5 R

Quarterfinal 4

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Yuriy Tyukalov   Soviet Union 7:47.9 Q
2 Eduardo Risso   Uruguay 7:52.0 Q
3 Henri Butel   France 8:00.4 R
4 Rob van Mesdag   Netherlands 8:02.0 R

First repechage

edit

First repechage heat 1

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Rob van Mesdag   Netherlands 7:35.6 R
2 Sevi Holmsten   Finland 7:37.2
3 Hussein El-Alfy   Egypt 8:07.1

First repechage heat 2

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Günther Schütt   Saar 7:38.4 R
2 Henri Butel   France 7:41.2
3 Juan Omedes   Spain 7:45.1

First repechage heat 3

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 František Reich   Czechoslovakia 7:39.0 R
2 Ugo Pifferi   Italy 7:47.5

First repechage heat 4

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Henri Steenacker   Belgium 7:43.8 R
2 Carlos Adueza   Chile 8:08.9

Semifinals

edit

Semifinal 1

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Tony Fox   Great Britain 7:54.4 Q
2 Mervyn Wood   Australia 8:02.5 R
3 Eduardo Risso   Uruguay 8:05.9 R
4 Teodor Kocerka   Poland 9:10.6 R

Semifinal 2

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Yuriy Tyukalov   Soviet Union 7:52.6 Q
2 John B. Kelly Jr.   United States 7:57.3 R
3 Ian Stephen   South Africa 8:02.3 R
4 Paul Meyer   Switzerland 8:07.1 R

Second repechage

edit

Second repechage heat 1

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Mervyn Wood   Australia 7:45.5 Q
2 Paul Meyer   Switzerland 7:48.3
3 Rob van Mesdag   Netherlands 7:57.2
4 Henri Steenacker   Belgium 7:59.5

Second repechage heat 2

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Teodor Kocerka   Poland 7:41.8 Q
2 John B. Kelly Jr.   United States 7:42.0
3 František Reich   Czechoslovakia 7:55.0

Second repechage heat 3

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes
1 Ian Stephen   South Africa 7:38.6 Q
2 Günther Schütt   Saar 7:42.9
3 Eduardo Risso   Uruguay 7:50.5

Final

edit
Rank Rower Nation Time
  Yuriy Tyukalov   Soviet Union 8:12.8
  Mervyn Wood   Australia 8:14.5
  Teodor Kocerka   Poland 8:19.4
4 Tony Fox   Great Britain 8:22.5
5 Ian Stephen   South Africa 8:31.4

Results summary

edit
Rank Rower Nation Quarterfinals First repechage Semifinals Second repechage Final
  Yuriy Tyukalov   Soviet Union 7:47.9 Bye 7:52.6 Bye 8:12.8
  Mervyn Wood   Australia 7:44.1 Bye 8:02.5 7:45.5 8:14.5
  Teodor Kocerka   Poland 7:59.5 Bye 9:10.6 7:41.8 8:19.4
4 Tony Fox   Great Britain 7:45.1 Bye 7:54.4 Bye 8:22.5
5 Ian Stephen   South Africa 7:47.7 Bye 8:02.3 7:38.6 8:31.4
6 John B. Kelly Jr.   United States 7:58.4 Bye 7:57.3 7:42.0 Did not advance
7 Günther Schütt   Saar 7:58.4 7:38.4 Bye 7:42.9
8 Paul Meyer   Switzerland 7:44.5 Bye 8:07.1 7:48.3
9 Eduardo Risso   Uruguay 7:52.0 Bye 8:05.9 7:50.5
10 František Reich   Czechoslovakia 7:59.0 7:39.0 Bye 7:55.0
11 Rob van Mesdag   Netherlands 8:02.0 7:35.6 Bye 7:57.2
12 Henri Steenacker   Belgium 8:04.0 7:43.8 Bye 7:59.5
13 Sevi Holmsten   Finland 7:52.1 7:37.2 Did not advance
14 Henri Butel   France 8:00.4 7:41.2
15 Juan Omedes   Spain 8:03.1 7:45.1
16 Ugo Pifferi   Italy 8:09.0 7:47.5
17 Hussein El-Alfy   Egypt 8:33.5 8:07.1
18 Carlos Adueza   Chile 8:22.3 8:08.9

References

edit
  1. ^ "Rowing at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games: Men's Single Sculls". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Single Sculls, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
edit