Rowing at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's coxed pair

The men's coxed pair competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place at took place at Lake Albano, Italy.[1] It was held from 31 August to 3 September.[2] There were 18 boats (54 competitors) from 18 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event.[2] The three nations on the podium were the same as those in 1956, though in a different order (and with only 1 of the 9 individual competitors being the same). The event was won by the United Team of Germany (bronze in 1956), with Bernhard Knubel and Heinz Renneberg rowing with Klaus Zerta the coxswain. Zerta is the youngest confirmed male gold medalist in Olympic history at 13 years and 283 days, just beating Hans Bourquin (also in the men's coxed pair, in 1928) by 9 days.[3][4][5] The 1900 men's coxed pair gold-medal-winning coxswain may have been younger (estimates range from 7 to 12 years old), but the identities and ages of most coxswains in that event, including the gold medalist, are not known. The Soviet Union, bronze in 1956, took silver this time with Antanas Bagdonavičius, Zigmas Jukna, and Igor Rudakov. Defending champions the United States took bronze; Conn Findlay was the only man from the 1956 podium to return, this time with Richard Draeger as his rowing partner and Kent Mitchell the coxswain.

Men's coxed pair
at the Games of the XVII Olympiad
Klaus Zerta, coxswain of the gold medal team
VenueLake Albano,
Dates31 August – 3 September
Competitors54 from 18 nations
Winning time7:29.14
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Bernhard Knubel
Heinz Renneberg
Klaus Zerta
 United Team of Germany
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Antanas Bagdonavičius
Zigmas Jukna
Igor Rudakov
 Soviet Union
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Richard Draeger
Conn Findlay
Kent Mitchell
 United States
← 1956
1964 →

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 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]

Only 1 of the 12 competitors from the 1956 coxed pair final returned: Conn Findlay from the gold-medal United States team. The United Team of Germany had been dominant the last few years other than their second-place finish to the Americans in the 1956 Games, winning four European championships with various crew compositions.[2]

Czechoslovakia, Romania, Spain, and Uruguay each made their debut in the event. The United States made its eighth appearance, matching the absent France 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).[6]

This rowing competition consisted of two main rounds (heats and final), as well as a repechage round that allowed teams that did not win their heats to advance to the final.

  • Semifinals: Three heats. With 18 boats entered, there were six boats per heat. The winner of each heat advanced directly to the final; all other boats went to the repechage.
  • Repechage: Three heats. With 15 boats racing in but not winning their initial heats, there were five boats per repechage heat. The top boat in each repechage heat advanced to the final, with the remaining boats eliminated.
  • Final: The final consisted of the six boats that had won either the preliminary heats or the repechage heats.

Schedule

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All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Wednesday, 31 August 1960 10:00 Semifinals
Thursday, 1 September 1960 15:00 Repechage
Saturday, 3 September 1960 16:30 Final

Results

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Semifinals

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Heat 1

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Igor Rudakov   Soviet Union 7:31.70 Q
2 Kent Mitchell   United States 7:39.50 R
3 František Staněk   Czechoslovakia 7:47.60 R
4 Josip Bujas   Yugoslavia 7:49.81 R
5 Ken Lester   Great Britain 7:55.59 R
6 Ioannis Theodorakeas   Greece 7:59.42 R

Heat 2

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Mircea Roger   Romania 7:43.38 Q
2 Jan Just Bos   Netherlands 7:48.01 R
3 Owe Lostad   Sweden 7:56.06 R
4 Jorge Somlay   Argentina 8:02.36 R
5 Joaquín del Real   Spain 8:06.44 R
Gyula Lengyel   Hungary DSQ R

Heat 3

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Klaus Zerta   United Team of Germany 7:31.64 Q
2 Sven Lysholt Hansen   Denmark 7:36.04 R
3 Raúl Torrieri   Uruguay 7:38.17 R
4 Ian Johnston   Australia 7:49.06 R
5 Vincenzo Bruno   Italy 8:09.20 R
6 Étienne Pollet   Belgium 8:14.40 R

Repechage

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Repechage heat 1

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Kent Mitchell   United States 7:39.00 Q
2 Raúl Torrieri   Uruguay 7:45.02
3 Jorge Somlay   Argentina 7:59.33
4 Joaquín del Real   Spain 8:04.63
5 Étienne Pollet   Belgium 8:18.29

Repechage heat 2

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Vincenzo Bruno   Italy 7:39.52 Q
2 František Staněk   Czechoslovakia 7:40.98
3 Jan Just Bos   Netherlands 7:42.15
4 Ian Johnston   Australia 7:47.82
5 Ioannis Theodorakeas   Greece 7:54.75

Repechage heat 3

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1 Sven Lysholt Hansen   Denmark 7:39.70 Q
2 Josip Bujas   Yugoslavia 7:48.05
3 Ken Lester   Great Britain 7:49.01
4 Owe Lostad   Sweden 7:50.77
5 Gyula Lengyel   Hungary 8:01.35

Final

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time
  Klaus Zerta   United Team of Germany 7:29.14
  Igor Rudakov   Soviet Union 7:30.17
  Kent Mitchell   United States 7:34.58
4 Sven Lysholt Hansen   Denmark 7:39.20
5 Vincenzo Bruno   Italy 7:40.92
6 Mircea Roger   Romania 7:49.57

Results summary

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Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Semifinals Repechage Final
  Klaus Zerta   United Team of Germany 7:31.64 Bye 7:29.14
  Igor Rudakov   Soviet Union 7:31.70 Bye 7:30.17
  Kent Mitchell   United States 7:39.50 7:39.00 7:34.58
4 Sven Lysholt Hansen   Denmark 7:36.04 7:39.70 7:39.20
5 Vincenzo Bruno   Italy 8:09.20 7:39.52 7:40.92
6 Mircea Roger   Romania 7:43.38 Bye 7:49.57
7 František Staněk   Czechoslovakia 7:47.60 7:40.98 Did not advance
8 Jan Just Bos   Netherlands 7:48.01 7:42.15
9 Raúl Torrieri   Uruguay 7:38.17 7:45.02
10 Ian Johnston   Australia 7:49.06 7:47.82
11 Josip Bujas   Yugoslavia 7:49.81 7:48.05
12 Ken Lester   Great Britain 7:55.59 7:49.01
13 Owe Lostad   Sweden 7:56.06 7:50.77
14 Ioannis Theodorakeas   Greece 7:59.42 7:54.75
15 Jorge Somlay   Argentina 8:02.36 7:59.33
16 Gyula Lengyel   Hungary DSQ 8:01.35
17 Joaquín del Real   Spain 8:06.44 8:04.63
18 Étienne Pollet   Belgium 8:14.40 8:18.29

References

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  1. ^ "Rowing at the 1960 Rome Summer Games: Men's Coxed Pairs". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Coxed Pairs, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Oldest and Youngest Olympians (Summer Games)". 8 April 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Hans Bourquin". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Klaus Zerta". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2021.