Rowing at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's single sculls

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Men's single sculls
at the Games of the VII Olympiad
JohnBKellySr.jpg
Gold medalist Jack Kelly
Venue Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal
Dates27–29 August
Competitors10 from 10 nations
Winning time7:35.0
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg John B. Kelly Sr.
US flag 48 stars.svg  United States
Silver medal icon.svg Jack Beresford
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Bronze medal icon.svg Darcy Hadfield
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
  1912
1924  

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. [1] The event was won by John B. Kelly Sr. of the United States, the nation's second victory in the event (tying Great Britain for most among nations at the time). It was the first of Kelly's three Olympic gold medals; he would also win in the double sculls about an hour later (a double that has never been repeated) 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." [2] 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. [3]

Contents

Darcy Hadfield took bronze, the first Olympic medal for New Zealand as a separate nation (New Zealand had previously competed with Australia as "Australasia" in 1908 and 1912).

Background

This was the fifth 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]

The competition featured a historically great field. John B. Kelly Sr. and Jack Beresford are cited as the best scullers to have ever come from the United States and Great Britain, respectively. [2] Kelly had won six national championships and put together a 126-race winning streak in 1919 and 1920. Beresford had won the 1920 Diamond Challenge Sculls in 1920 and would win the Wingfield Sculls seven consecutive times, as well as winning five Olympic medals at five different Games (and in four different rowing events). Kelly had been excluded from the Diamond Challenge Sculls in 1920, primarily due to a ban on the Vesper Boat Club to which he belonged, though his work as a bricklayer was also cited as a violation of amateurism rules. Other prominent scullers competing in Antwerp included 1920 European champion Max Schmid of Switzerland]] and 1919 Inter-Allied champion Darcy Hadfield of New Zealand. [2]

Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and Switzerland each made their debut in the event. Great Britain made its fourth appearance, most among nations, having missed only the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

Competition format

The competition featured three rounds (quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final), with more than two boats to a race for the first time since 1904. The quarterfinals consisted of four heats of either two or three boats each, with the top sculler in each heat advancing. The four quarterfinal winners were separated into two semifinals of two boats each; the winner of each advanced to the final. There was no bronze medal race, but only one of the semifinal losers received bronze. The course used the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912. [4]

Schedule

DateTimeRound
Friday, 27 August 192014:00Quarterfinals
Saturday, 28 August 192015:15Semifinals
Sunday, 29 August 192015:30Final

Results

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal 1

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Jack Beresford Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 7:45.0Q
2 Max Schmid Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland 7:49.0
3 Gustav Zinke Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia Unknown

Quarterfinal 2

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Frits Eijken Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 7:50.0Q
2 Nino Castelli Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 7:59.0
3 Jacques Haller Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Unknown

Quarterfinal 3

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 John B. Kelly Sr. US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7:44.2Q
2 Nils Ljunglöf Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 7:49.6

Quarterfinal 4

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Darcy Hadfield Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 8:05.0Q
2 Theodor Eyrich Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 8:11.0

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Jack Beresford Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 7:45.0Q
2 Frits Eijken Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 7:50.4

Semifinal 2

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 John B. Kelly Sr. US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7:46.2Q
Bronze medal icon.svg Darcy Hadfield Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 7:49.2

Final

RankRowerNationTime
Gold medal icon.svg John B. Kelly Sr. US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7:35.0
Silver medal icon.svg Jack Beresford Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 7:36.0

Results summary

RankRowerNationQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
Gold medal icon.svg John B. Kelly Sr. US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7:44.27:46.27:35.0
Silver medal icon.svg Jack Beresford Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 7:45.07:45.07:36.0
Bronze medal icon.svg Darcy Hadfield Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 8:05.07:49.2Did not advance
4 Frits Eijken Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 7:50.07:50.4
5 Max Schmid Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland 7:49.0Did not advance
6 Nils Ljunglöf Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 7:49.6
7 Nino Castelli Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 7:59.0
8 Theodor Eyrich Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 8:11.0
9 Gustav Zinke Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia Unknown
Jacques Haller Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Unknown

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. "Rowing at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Games: Men's Single Sculls". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2018.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Single Sculls, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. NYTimes, June 5, 1920
  4. "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2021.

Sources