Rowing at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's coxed four

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Men's coxed four
at the Games of the XX Olympiad
Regattastrecke Oberschleissheim Zielbereich.jpg
Aerial view of the venue in Oberschleißheim
Venue Oberschleißheim Regatta Course
Dates27 August – 2 September
Competitors70 from 14 nations
Winning time6:31.85
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svgFlag of Germany.svg  West Germany
Silver medal icon.svgFlag of East Germany.svg  East Germany
Bronze medal icon.svgFlag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia
  1968
1976  

The men's coxed four competition at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich took place from 27 August to 2 September at the Olympic Reggatta Course in Oberschleißheim. [1] There were 14 boats (70 competitors) from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. [2] The event was won by West Germany; it was the nation's first medal as a separate team, but the third time in four Games that a West German crew had won gold (with crews from West Germany winning in 1960 and 1964 under the flag of the United Team of Germany). East Germany repeated as silver medallists, though with a new crew. Bronze went to Czechoslovakia, the nation's first medal in the men's coxed four since 1952.

Contents

Background

This was the 14th appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The coxed four was one of the four initial events introduced in 1900. It was not held in 1904 or 1908, but was held at every Games from 1912 to 1992 when it (along with the men's coxed pair) was replaced with the men's lightweight double sculls and men's lightweight coxless four. [2]

New Zealand's victory at the 1968 Olympics had been a surprise; teams from both East and West Germany had been dominant before then (winning the 1960 and 1964 Olympics, 1962 and 1966 World Championships, and most of the European championships). The Germans continued their form between Mexico City and Munich, with West Germany winning and East Germany the runner-up at the 1970 World Championship, along with both the 1969 and 1971 European championships. The two German crews were heavily favoured again at the 1972 Games. [2]

For the third time in five Games, no nations made their debut in the event. The United States made its 12th appearance, most among nations to that point.

Competition format

The coxed four event featured five-person boats, with four 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 competition used the 2000 metres distance that became standard at the 1912 Olympics and which has been used ever since except at the 1948 Games. [3]

The tournament used the four-round format (three main rounds and a repechage) that had been used in 1968. The competition continued to use the six-boat heat standardised in 1960 as well as the "B" final for ranking 7th through 12th place introduced in 1964.

Schedule

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

DateTimeRound
Sunday, 27 August 197214:00Quarterfinals
Tuesday, 29 August 19729:00Repechage
Thursday, 31 August 197211:30Semifinals
Friday, 1 September 197210:00Final B
Saturday, 2 September 197210:00Final A

Results

Quarterfinals

The top three of each heat advanced to the semifinal round; the remainder went to the repechage.

Quarterfinal 1

RankRowersCoxswainNationTimeNotes
1 Uwe Benter Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 6:46.66Q
2 Igor Rudakov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 6:50.21Q
3 Peter Lindsay Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 6:51.76Q
4 Stewart MacDonald Flag of the United States.svg  United States 6:56.01R
5 Jørgen Cappelen Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 7:05.75R

Quarterfinal 2

RankRowersCoxswainNationTimeNotes
1 Rolf Stadelmann Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland 6:53.30Q
2 Alberto Cecchi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 6:53.59Q
3 Patrick Sweeney Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 6:57.33Q
4 Vern Bowrey Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 7:07.00R
5 Kim Wind Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 7:08.22R

Quarterfinal 3

RankRowersCoxswainNationTimeNotes
1 Klaus-Dieter Ludwig Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany 6:44.57Q
2 Vladimír Petříček Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 6:49.41Q
3 Kees de Korver Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 6:53.30Q
4 Michael Conway Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 7:01.52R

Repechage

The top three finishers advanced to the semifinal round.

RankRowersCoxswainNationTimeNotes
1 Stewart MacDonald Flag of the United States.svg  United States 7:02.68Q
2 Michael Conway Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 7:04.35Q
3 Jørgen Cappelen Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 7:05.09Q
4 Vern Bowrey Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 7:07.08
5 Kim Wind Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 7:19.67

Semifinals

First three qualify to the Final A, remainder to Final B.

Semifinal 1

RankRowersCoxswainNationTimeNotes
1 Uwe Benter Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 7:19.43QA
2 Vladimír Petříček Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 7:20.95QA
3 Peter Lindsay Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 7:21.94QA
4 Rolf Stadelmann Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland 7:28.25QB
5 Jørgen Cappelen Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 7:32.51QB
6 Patrick Sweeney Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 7:35.11QB

Semifinal 2

RankRowersCoxswainNationTimeNotes
1 Igor Rudakov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 7:09.08QA
2 Klaus-Dieter Ludwig Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany 7:11.12QA
3 Stewart MacDonald Flag of the United States.svg  United States 7:18.59QA
4 Kees de Korver Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 7:23.66QB
5 Michael Conway Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 7:31.90QB
6 Alberto Cecchi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 7:34.67QB

Finals

Final B

RankRowersCoxswainNationTime
7 Kees de Korver Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 7:05.83
8 Rolf Stadelmann Flag of Switzerland.svg  Switzerland 7:07.80
9 Jørgen Cappelen Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 7:07.85
10 Patrick Sweeney Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 7:12.14
11 Alberto Cecchi Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 7:13.03
12 Michael Conway Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 7:16.13

Final A

RankRowersCoxswainNationTime
Gold medal icon.svg Uwe Benter Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 6:31.85
Silver medal icon.svg Klaus-Dieter Ludwig Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany 6:33.30
Bronze medal icon.svg Vladimír Petříček Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg  Czechoslovakia 6:35.64
4 Igor Rudakov Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 6:37.71
5 Stewart MacDonald Flag of the United States.svg  United States 6:41.86
6 Peter Lindsay Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 6:42.55

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References

  1. "Rowing at the 1972 Munich Summer Games: Men's Coxed Fours". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Coxed Fours, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  3. "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2021.