Pertti Johannes Karppinen is a retired Finnish rower noted for his three consecutive Olympic gold medals in single sculls in 1976, 1980 and 1984.
Peter-Michael Kolbe is a retired German rower who specialized in the single sculls. In this event, between 1975 and 1988 he won five world titles and three Olympic silver medals, in 1976, 1984 and 1988; he missed the 1980 Games because of their boycott by West Germany. His career is known for the rivalry with Pertti Karppinen that stretched for 14 years.
Thomas Lange is a German rower who won two gold and one bronze Olympic medals in the single sculls.
The men's single sculls event was a rowing event conducted as part of the Rowing at the 1964 Summer Olympics programme. It was held from 11 to 15 October at the Toda Rowing Course. There were 13 competitors from 13 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Vyacheslav Ivanov of the Soviet Union, his third consecutive victory in the event. Ivanov's three gold medals in the event remains tied for the best results for any individual single sculler ; only Ekaterina Karsten has more medals in (women's) single sculls, though she took only two golds along with a silver and a bronze. The second spot on the podium was also a repeat of 1960; Achim Hill of the United Team of Germany became the sixth man to win multiple single sculls medals by repeating as silver medalist. Bronze this time went to Gottfried Kottmann of Switzerland, that nation's first medal in the event since 1924.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona was held from 27 July to 1 August at Lake of Banyoles. The event was an open-style, individual rowing event conducted as part of the Rowing at the 1992 Summer Olympics program. There were 22 competitors from 22 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Thomas Lange of Germany, the fourth man to successfully repeat as Olympic champion. It was the first appearance of "Germany" since 1936, though German rowers representing the United Team of Germany, West Germany, and East Germany had won 10 medals in 8 Games from 1960 to 1988. Václav Chalupa of Czechoslovakia took silver, that nation's first medal in the men's single sculls. Poland's Kajetan Broniewski earned that nation's first medal in the event since 1960 with his bronze.
The men's single sculls competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London took place at Dorney Lake which, for the purposes of the Games venue, was officially termed Eton Dorney.
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 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 women's single sculls competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia took place at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took place at the Long Beach Marine Stadium from 9 to 13 August. There were 5 competitors from 5 nations, with each nation limited to one boat in the event. The event was won by defending champion Bobby Pearce of Australia, the first man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the event and second to win multiple medals overall. Silver went to William Miller of the United States; it was the third consecutive Games in which an American was the runner-up. The United States' podium streak in the event extended to four Games; the nation had won a medal in each of the five times it had appeared. Guillermo Douglas gave Uruguay a bronze medal in its debut in the event. Dick Southwood of Great Britain took fourth place, snapping that nation's five-Games medal streak and marking the first time Great Britain had competed and not won a medal. The only rower not to advance to the final was Canadian Joseph Wright Jr., who finished in fifth place.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place at Meilahti, Helsinki, Finland. The event was held from 20 July until 23 July. There were 18 competitors from 18 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. 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.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Wendouree, Ballarat, Australia. The event was held from 23 to 27 November. There were 12 competitors from 12 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Vyacheslav Ivanov of the Soviet Union, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's single sculls. Ivanov was so thrilled when he was presented with his gold medal that he jumped up and down with joy-and dropped the medal into Lake Wendouree. He immediately dived into the lake to retrieve it, but couldn't find it. After the games were over he was given a replacement medal. Stuart MacKenzie took silver, making it the second consecutive Games with an Australian runner-up. American John B. Kelly Jr., after missing the finals in 1948 and 1952 by 0.4 seconds and 0.2 seconds respectively, reached the final and took the bronze medal this time.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Albano, Italy. The event was held from 30 August until 3 September. There were 13 competitors from 13 nations, with each nation limited to one boat in the event. The event was won by Vyacheslav Ivanov of the Soviet Union, the second man to successfully repeat as Olympic champion. It was the third consecutive Soviet victory in the event, with Yuriy Tyukalov winning in 1952 before Ivanov's victories in 1956 and 1960. Ivanov would go on to win again in 1964, becoming the first man to win 3 gold medals in the event. The silver medal went to Achim Hill of the United Team of Germany, the first medal in the men's single sculls for the combined team and the first single sculls medal for any German rower since 1936. Teodor Kocerka of Poland took bronze. Ivanov and Kocerka were the fourth and fifth men to win multiple medals of any color in the event, with Kocerka previously taking bronze in 1952. It was Kocerka's third straight final in the event, placing fourth between his two bronzes. Australia's three-Games podium streak ended when Stuart Mackenzie fell ill and could not compete.
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 15–19 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 competition at the 1976 Summer Olympics took place at Notre Dame Island Olympic Basin, Canada. The event was held from 18–25 July. There were 15 competitors from 15 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Pertti Karppinen of Finland, the nation's first medal in the men's single sculls. Karppinen would go on to win three consecutive golds in the event, matching the Soviet Union's Vyacheslav Ivanov who did the same from 1956 to 1964. Silver went to Peter-Michael Kolbe of West Germany; East Germany took its second consecutive bronze medal in the event, this time with Joachim Dreifke as the rower.
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 Vasily 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 1936 Summer Olympics took place at Grünau Regatta Course, near Berlin, Germany. The event was held from 11 to 14 August. There were 20 competitors from 20 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Gustav Schäfer of Germany, the nation's first victory in the event and first medal of any color in the men's single sculls since 1908. Josef Hasenöhrl took silver, Austria's first medal in the event. Dan Barrow earned bronze, extending the United States' podium streak in the event to five Games; the Americans had taken a medal in each of the six times they competed in the event.
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.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics took place at Henley-on-Thames, London, United Kingdom. The event was held from 5–9 August. There were 14 competitors from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Mervyn Wood of Australia, the nation's third victory in four Games. Eduardo Risso's silver was Uruguay's second medal in the event, after a bronze in 1932. Italy received its first men's single sculls medal with Romolo Catasta's bronze. The United States had its five-Games podium streak in the event ended, as John B. Kelly Jr. lost his semifinal by 0.4 seconds and did not advance to the final.
