 |
| Men's coxless four at the Games of the XVI Olympiad | |
|---|---|
| Date | 23–27 November 1956 |
| Competitors | 48 from 12 nations |
| Medalists | |
| Rowing at the 1956 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single sculls | men |
| Double sculls | men |
| Coxless pair | men |
| Coxed pair | men |
| Coxless four | men |
| Coxed four | men |
| Eight | men |
The men's coxless four competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Wendouree near Ballarat, Australia. [1]
The following rowers took part: [1]
James Bruce Tomkins is an Australian rower, seven-time World Champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is Australia's most awarded oarsman, having made appearances at six Olympic games ; eleven World Championships ; four Rowing World Cups and eighteen state representative King's Cup appearances – the Australian blue riband men's VIII event,. Tomkins is one of only five Australian athletes and four rowers worldwide to compete at six Olympics. From 1990 to 1998 he was the stroke of Australia's prominent world class crew – the coxless four known as the Oarsome Foursome.
Denmark competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 31 competitors, 27 men and 4 women, took part in 25 events in 10 sports.
Belgium competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 54 competitors, 51 men and 3 women, took part in 37 events in 12 sports.
Canada competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 92 competitors, 77 men and 15 women, took part in 81 events in 14 sports.
Switzerland competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. The nation returned to the Summer Olympic Games after participating in the Dutch-led boycott of the 1956 Summer Olympics. 149 competitors, 147 men and 2 women, took part in 90 events in 16 sports.
France competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 137 competitors, 119 men and 18 women, took part in 95 events in 15 sports.
The United States competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. 297 competitors, 251 men and 46 women, took part in 139 events in 18 sports.
Germany was represented at the 1956 Summer Olympics by a United Team of Germany of athletes from the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and, for the first time at Summer Games, also from East Germany which had not joined in 1952. Also, the Saarland athletes who had to enter as a separate team in 1952 could now join in even though the accession of their state was not yet in effect. Thus, this was the only Olympic team ever to comprise athletes from three German states.
Austria competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 29 competitors, 24 men and 5 women, took part in 33 events in 11 sports.
Italy competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 129 competitors, 114 men and 15 women, took part in 76 events in 13 sports. As the country hosted the next Olympics in Rome, the flag of Italy was hoisted at the closing ceremony.
Finland competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 64 competitors, 63 men and 1 woman, took part in 62 events in 14 sports.
Germany competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 205 competitors, 173 men and 32 women, took part in 123 events in 18 sports.
The men's coxless pairs competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Wendouree near Ballarat, Australia. The event was held from 23 November 23 to 27 November. The competition was won by James Fifer and Duvall Hecht representing the United States.
The men's coxless pair 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.
The men's coxless four (M4-) 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.
The men's coxless four (M4-) competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Casitas in Ventura County, California, United States. It was held from 31 July to 5 August and the outcome was wide open due to the Eastern Bloc boycott and thus the absence of the dominating team from the Soviet Union, and previously East Germany. The event was won by the team from New Zealand.
The men's coxless four competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London took place at Henley-on-Thames, London.
The men's coxless four competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place at Meilahti, Finland.
The men's coxed pair competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place at took place at Lake Albano, Italy. It was held from 31 August to 3 September. There were 18 boats from 18 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The three nations on the podium were the same as those in 1956, though in a different order. The event was won by the United Team of Germany, 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 by 9 days. The 1900 men's coxed pair gold-medal-winning coxswain may have been younger, 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.
Sam Conrad is an Australian former representative rower. He was a national champion, a world champion and an Olympian like his father and grandfather.
