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

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Men's single sculls
at the Games of the XV Olympiad
Mervyn Wood 1952.jpg
Silver medallist Mervyn Wood in 1952
Venue Meilahti
Date20–23 July 1952
Competitors18 from 18 nations
Winning time8:12.8
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svg Yuriy Tyukalov
Flag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
Silver medal icon.svg Mervyn Wood
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
Bronze medal icon.svg Teodor Kocerka
Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland
  1948
1956  

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.

Background

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

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

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

DateTimeRound
Monday, 21 July 1952 
9:00
 
Quarterfinals
First repechage
Semifinals
Tuesday, 22 July 1952Second repechage
Wednesday, 23 July 195217:00Final

Results

Quarterfinals

Quarterfinal 1

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Tony Fox Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 7:45.1Q
2 Ian Stephen Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 7:47.7Q
3 Sevi Holmsten Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 7:52.1R
4 Juan Omedes Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 8:03.1R
5 Carlos Adueza Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 8:22.3R

Quarterfinal 2

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Mervyn Wood Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 7:44.1Q
2 Paul Meyer Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 7:44.5Q
3 Günther Schütt Flag of Saar (1947-1956).svg  Saar 7:58.4R
4 František Reich Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 7:59.0R
5 Henri Steenacker Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 8:04.0R

Quarterfinal 3

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 John B. Kelly Jr. US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7:58.4Q
2 Teodor Kocerka Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 7:59.5Q
3 Ugo Pifferi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 8:09.0R
4 Hussein El-Alfy Flag of Egypt (1922-1953).svg  Egypt 8:33.5R

Quarterfinal 4

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Yuriy Tyukalov Flag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union 7:47.9Q
2 Eduardo Risso Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 7:52.0Q
3 Henri Butel Flag of France.svg  France 8:00.4R
4 Rob van Mesdag Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 8:02.0R

First repechage

First repechage heat 1

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Rob van Mesdag Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 7:35.6R
2 Sevi Holmsten Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 7:37.2
3 Hussein El-Alfy Flag of Egypt (1922-1953).svg  Egypt 8:07.1

First repechage heat 2

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Günther Schütt Flag of Saar (1947-1956).svg  Saar 7:38.4R
2 Henri Butel Flag of France.svg  France 7:41.2
3 Juan Omedes Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 7:45.1

First repechage heat 3

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 František Reich Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 7:39.0R
2 Ugo Pifferi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 7:47.5

First repechage heat 4

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Henri Steenacker Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 7:43.8R
2 Carlos Adueza Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 8:08.9

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Tony Fox Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 7:54.4Q
2 Mervyn Wood Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 8:02.5R
3 Eduardo Risso Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 8:05.9R
4 Teodor Kocerka Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 9:10.6R

Semifinal 2

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Yuriy Tyukalov Flag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union 7:52.6Q
2 John B. Kelly Jr. US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7:57.3R
3 Ian Stephen Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 8:02.3R
4 Paul Meyer Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 8:07.1R

Second repechage

Second repechage heat 1

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Mervyn Wood Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 7:45.5Q
2 Paul Meyer Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 7:48.3
3 Rob van Mesdag Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 7:57.2
4 Henri Steenacker Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 7:59.5

Second repechage heat 2

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Teodor Kocerka Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 7:41.8Q
2 John B. Kelly Jr. US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7:42.0
3 František Reich Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 7:55.0

Second repechage heat 3

RankRowerNationTimeNotes
1 Ian Stephen Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 7:38.6Q
2 Günther Schütt Flag of Saar (1947-1956).svg  Saar 7:42.9
3 Eduardo Risso Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 7:50.5

Final

RankRowerNationTime
Gold medal icon.svg Yuriy Tyukalov Flag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union 8:12.8
Silver medal icon.svg Mervyn Wood Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 8:14.5
Bronze medal icon.svg Teodor Kocerka Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 8:19.4
4 Tony Fox Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 8:22.5
5 Ian Stephen Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 8:31.4

Results summary

RankRowerNationQuarterfinalsFirst repechageSemifinalsSecond repechageFinal
Gold medal icon.svg Yuriy Tyukalov Flag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union 7:47.9Bye7:52.6Bye8:12.8
Silver medal icon.svg Mervyn Wood Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 7:44.1Bye8:02.57:45.58:14.5
Bronze medal icon.svg Teodor Kocerka Flag of Poland (1928-1980).svg  Poland 7:59.5Bye9:10.67:41.88:19.4
4 Tony Fox Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain 7:45.1Bye7:54.4Bye8:22.5
5 Ian Stephen Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South Africa 7:47.7Bye8:02.37:38.68:31.4
6 John B. Kelly Jr. US flag 48 stars.svg  United States 7:58.4Bye7:57.37:42.0Did not advance
7 Günther Schütt Flag of Saar (1947-1956).svg  Saar 7:58.47:38.4Bye7:42.9
8 Paul Meyer Civil Ensign of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 7:44.5Bye8:07.17:48.3
9 Eduardo Risso Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 7:52.0Bye8:05.97:50.5
10 František Reich Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 7:59.07:39.0Bye7:55.0
11 Rob van Mesdag Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 8:02.07:35.6Bye7:57.2
12 Henri Steenacker Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 8:04.07:43.8Bye7:59.5
13 Sevi Holmsten Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 7:52.17:37.2Did not advance
14 Henri Butel Flag of France.svg  France 8:00.47:41.2
15 Juan Omedes Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spain 8:03.17:45.1
16 Ugo Pifferi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 8:09.07:47.5
17 Hussein El-Alfy Flag of Egypt (1922-1953).svg  Egypt 8:33.58:07.1
18 Carlos Adueza Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 8:22.38:08.9

References

  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. 1 2 3 "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.