The men's single sculls competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place at Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre, Greece. The event was held from 14 to 21 August and was one of six events for male competitors in Rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. There were 29 competitors from 29 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Olaf Tufte of Norway. Silver went to Jüri Jaanson of Estonia, with bronze to Ivo Yanakiev of Bulgaria. It was the first medal in the men's single sculls for all three nations. Marcel Hacker's failure to make the final made this the first men's single sculls race since 1956 without a German rower on the podium; between the United Team of Germany, East Germany, West Germany, and Germany, the German medal streak in the event had been 11 Games long.
Canada competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. 37 competitors, all men, took part in 30 events in 7 sports.
The single sculls was one of the competitions in the Rowing at the 1900 Summer Olympics events in Paris. It was held on 25 and 26 August 1900. 12 athletes from 3 nations competed. Four quarterfinals, two semifinals, and a final were held. The event was won by Hermann Barrelet of France; the host nation also took silver with André Gaudin. Saint-George Ashe of Great Britain earned bronze, after interfering with another rower in the quarterfinals and advancing out of the semifinals for unknown reasons after placing third in his heat.
The Russian Empire (Russia) competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. 159 competitors took part in 62 events in 15 sports.
Hungary competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. Austrian and Hungarian results at early Olympic Games are generally kept separate despite the union of the two nations as Austria-Hungary at the time. 121 competitors, all men, took part in 52 events in 11 sports.
Belgium competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.
The men's single sculls event was part of the rowing programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition, the fifth appearance of the event, was held from 27 to 29 August 1920. Ten rowers, each from a different nation, competed. The event was won by John B. Kelly Sr. of the United States, the nation's second victory in the event. It was the first of Kelly's three Olympic gold medals; he would also win in the double sculls about an hour later as well as in the 1924 double sculls. In the final, Kelly defeated Great Britain's Jack Beresford in "of the greatest sculling races ever contested." Beresford led most of the way, with Kelly passing him late and winning by one second—a very close race in single sculls. The final held particular significance to Kelly, who had only decided to participate in the Olympics after being excluded from the 1920 Diamond Challenge Sculls; Kelly had wanted "to get a crack at the man who wins the diamond sculls"—which had turned out to be Beresford.
The men's single sculls competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held between 9 and 16 August, at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. There were 32 competitors from 32 nations. The event was won by Olaf Tufte of Norway, the fifth man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the event. The silver medal went to Ondřej Synek of the Czech Republic, the nation's first medal in the event. Mahé Drysdale of New Zealand earned bronze. Both Synek and Drysdale would go on to win medals in the event again in 2012 and 2016.
The men's single sculls event was part of the rowing programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics. It was one of seven rowing events for men and was the seventh appearance of the event, which had been on the programme for every Games since rowing was added in 1900. There were 15 competitors, each from a different nation. The event was won by Bobby Pearce of Australia, the nation's first medal in the event. Silver went to Ken Myers of the United States, extending that nation's podium streak to three Games. David Collet of Great Britain took bronze; that nation had also earned a medal each time it appeared and had a five-Games podium streak.
The men's coxed pair event was part of the rowing programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics. It was one of seven rowing events for men and was the fourth appearance of the event. It was held from 3 to 10 August near Sloten, Amsterdam. There were 6 boats from 6 nations, with each nation limited to one boat in the event. The event was won by the Swiss team, the nation's second consecutive victory in the event. Brothers Hans Schöchlin and Karl Schöchlin rowed, with Hans Bourquin the coxswain. Another pair of brothers took silver: France's Armand Marcelle and Édouard Marcelle. The Belgian bronze medal team consisted of Léon Flament, François de Coninck, and Georges Anthony; it was the nation's first medal in the event.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich took place from 27 August to 2 September at the Olympic Reggatta Course in Oberschleißheim. There were 18 competitors from 18 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Yury Malyshev of the Soviet Union, the nation's fifth victory in the event; the Soviets returned to the top of the podium after having their four-Games (1952–1964) winning streak broken in 1968. Alberto Demiddi of Argentina took silver, the seventh man to win multiple medals in the single sculls. Wolfgang Güldenpfennig earned bronze, the first medal for East Germany as a separate team.
The men's single sculls competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia took place at the Sydney International Regatta Centre. It was held from 17 to 23 September. There were 24 competitors from 24 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Rob Waddell of New Zealand, the nation's first victory in the event after bronze medals in 1920 and 1988. Defending champion Xeno Müller of Switzerland placed second, becoming the 11th man to win multiple medals in the event. Marcel Hacker of Germany took bronze; it was the 11th consecutive Games with a German rower on the podium in the event.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place at Virgilio Uribe Rowing and Canoeing Course, Mexico. The event was held from 15 to 19 October. There were 17 competitors from 17 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Jan Wienese of the Netherlands, with Jochen Meißner of West Germany taking silver and Alberto Demiddi of Argentina earning bronze. It was the first medal in men's single sculls for each of the three nations. The Soviet Union's four-Games winning streak in the event ended; three-time champion Vyacheslav Ivanov was left off the team in favor of Viktor Melnikov; Melnikov finished fourth in his semifinal and did not reach the main final.
The men's single sculls rowing competition at the 1980 Summer Olympics took place at Krylatskoye Sports Complex Canoeing and Rowing Basin, Moscow, Soviet Union. The event was held from 20 to 27 July. There were 14 competitors from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Pertti Karppinen of Finland, his second of three consecutive victories from 1976 to 1984. Karppinen was the eighth man to win multiple medals in the event. Silver went to Vasil Yakusha of the Soviet Union, the nation's sixth medal in eight Games. East Germany took a third consecutive bronze medal, all by different rowers as Peter Kersten was the nation's men's single sculler this Games.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Casitas, California, United States of America. The event was held from 31 July to 5 August. There were 16 competitors from 16 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Pertti Karppinen of Finland, his third consecutive victory. Silver went to Peter-Michael Kolbe of West Germany; Kolbe, who had also taken silver in 1976, was the ninth man to earn multiple medals in the single sculls and the first to do so in non-consecutive Games. Canada earned its first medal in the event since 1912 with Robert Mills's bronze. East Germany's three-Games podium streak ended with no rowers from that nation present due to the Soviet-led boycott.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place at Misari Regatta, South Korea. The event was held from 19 to 24 September. It was the 20th appearance of the event, which had been held at every Olympic Games since the introduction of rowing in 1900. NOCs were limited to one boat apiece; 22 sent a competitor in the men's single sculls. Thomas Lange of East Germany won the event, denying Pertti Karppinen a record fourth-straight win and starting a two-Games winning streak of his own. Peter-Michael Kolbe of West Germany took his third silver, joining Karppinen and Vyacheslav Ivanov as three-time medalists in the event. New Zealand earned its first medal in the event since 1920, with Eric Verdonk taking bronze.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Lanier, Atlanta, United States of America. The event was held from 21 to 27 July 1996. There were 21 competitors from 21 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Xeno Müller of Switzerland, the nation's first victory in the event and first medal of any color since 1960. Derek Porter's silver was Canada's best-ever result in the event, over bronze medals in 1912 and 1984. Two-time defending champion Thomas Lange of Germany settled with a bronze medal this time, becoming the fourth man to win three medals in the event.
The men's single sculls competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held from 6 to 13 August at the Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas. There were 32 competitors from 32 nations. The event was won by Mahé Drysdale of New Zealand, the sixth man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the event. He won an exceptionally close final against Damir Martin of Croatia. Martin's silver was Croatia's first medal in the event. Bronze went to Ondřej Synek of the Czech Republic. Both Drysdale and Synek earned their third medal in the event; Drysdale had taken bronze in 2008 before winning in 2012 and 2016, while Synek had twice been the runner-up in 2008 and 2012 before this third-place finish.
The men's coxed pair competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Wendouree near Ballarat, Australia, from 23 to 27 November. There were 8 boats from 8 nations, with each nation limited to one boat in the event. The event was won by the American crew, rowers Arthur Ayrault and Conn Findlay and coxswain Kurt Seiffert. It was the first victory in the event for the United States since 1932 and second overall, matching Switzerland for most among nations at that point. The United Team of Germany took silver in its debut. The Soviet Union earned its first medal in the event, with Ihor Yemchuk, Heorhiy Zhylin, and Vladimir Petrov (cox) taking bronze.
The men's single sculls event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place from 23 to 30 July 2021 at the Sea Forest Waterway. 32 rowers from 32 nations competed.
