The men's eight competition was one of six events for male competitors in Rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. It was held from 15 to 22 August. There were 9 boats from 9 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by the United States, the nation's first victory in the men's eight since 1964 and 12th overall. The Netherlands took silver. Australia, the reigning silver medalist, finished with bronze this time.
The men's coxed four 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. There were 16 boats from 16 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by the United Team of Germany, the nation's second consecutive victory in the men's coxed four. The two medals placed the United Team of Germany in a tie for second-most all-time with Switzerland and Italy; Germany had the most with four. Italy earned its third straight medal in the event, all of different colours, with a silver in Tokyo. The bronze medal went to the Netherlands, the nation's first medal in the event since 1900.
The men's eight event was a rowing event conducted as part of the 1964 Summer Olympics programme. It was held from 12 to 15 October at the Toda Rowing Course. There were 14 boats from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by the United States, returning the top of the podium after losing their eight-Games winning streak with a fifth-place finish in 1960; it was the nation's 11th overall victory in the men's eight. The defending champions, the United Team of Germany, took silver; the Germans defeated the United States in the opening round but lost the rematch in the final after the Americans advanced through the repechage. Czechoslovakia repeated as bronze medalists.
The men's eight competition at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia took place at Lake Lanier. It was held from 21 to 27 July. There were 10 boats from 10 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by the Netherlands, the nation's first victory in the men's eight and first medal of any color in the event since 1900. Germany took silver; it was the 9th time in the past 10 Games that a German team was on the podium, with the only exception being 1984 when no German boats competed. Russia earned bronze in its independent debut.
The men's eight event was part of the rowing programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The competition, the sixth appearance of the event, was held from 13 to 17 July 1924 on the river Seine. Ten teams, each from a different nation, competed. The event was won by the United States, the nation's second consecutive and fourth overall victory in the event. Canada took silver, its first medal in the men's eight since 1908. Italy, making its debut in the event, took bronze.
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 programme. 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 eight 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. It was held from 28 July to 1 August. There were 8 boats from 8 nations. The event was won by Germany, the nation's first victory as "Germany". The German team beat the defending champions Canada, who took silver. Great Britain also slipped one place from their 2008 silver, taking bronze this time.
The men's eight 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 15 boats from 15 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by New Zealand, the nation's first medal in the men's eight. Silver went to the United States. East Germany also earned its first medal in the event, with bronze.
The men's single sculls competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place at Misari Regatta, South Korea. The event was held from 19 to 24 September. It was the 20th appearance of the event, which had been held at every Olympic Games since the introduction of rowing in 1900. NOCs were limited to one boat apiece; 22 sent a competitor in the men's single sculls. Thomas Lange of East Germany won the event, denying Pertti Karppinen a record fourth-straight win and starting a two-Games winning streak of his own. Peter-Michael Kolbe of West Germany took his third silver, joining Karppinen and Vyacheslav Ivanov as three-time medalists in the event. New Zealand earned its first medal in the event since 1920, with Eric Verdonk taking bronze.
The men's single sculls competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held from 6 to 13 August at the Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas. There were 32 competitors from 32 nations. The event was won by Mahé Drysdale of New Zealand, the sixth man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the event. He won an exceptionally close final against Damir Martin of Croatia. Martin's silver was Croatia's first medal in the event. Bronze went to Ondřej Synek of the Czech Republic. Both Drysdale and Synek earned their third medal in the event; Drysdale had taken bronze in 2008 before winning in 2012 and 2016, while Synek had twice been the runner-up in 2008 and 2012 before this third-place finish.
The men's eight competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics took place at Grünau Regatta Course in Berlin, Germany. The event was held from 12 to 14 August, and was won by a United States crew from the University of Washington. This event is chronicled in The Boys in the Boat written by Daniel James Brown. There were 14 boats from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The victory was the fifth consecutive gold medal in the event for the United States and seventh overall; the Americans had won every time they competed. Italy repeated as silver medalists. Germany earned its first medal in the men's eight since 1912 with its bronze. Canada's three-Games podium streak ended.
The men's coxed four 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 12 boats from 12 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by East Germany, the nation's first victory after three consecutive silver medals since it began competing separately in 1968. Defending champions the Soviet Union finished second, while Poland's bronze medal was the first medal in the men's coxed four for that nation since 1932. Twin brothers Ullrich and Walter Dießner became the sixth and seventh men to earn two medals in the event, as they had also competed on the 1976 East German silver medal team.
The men's eight competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics took place at Henley-on-Thames, near London. It was held from 5 to 9 August. There were 12 boats from 12 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by the United States, the nation's sixth consecutive and eighth overall gold medal in the men's eight; the Americans had won every time they competed. Great Britain, the only other nation to have won in the event, finished second for its first medal in the event since 1928. Norway took bronze, its first medal in the men's eight since 1920.
The men's coxed four competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place at Virgilio Uribe Rowing and Canoeing Course, Mexico City, Mexico. It was held from 13 to 19 October and was unexpectedly won by the team from New Zealand, which secured the country its first Olympic rowing gold medal. Thirteen teams from 13 nations attended the competition. East Germany earned its first medal in its debut in the event, taking silver. Switzerland took bronze, its first medal in the men's coxed four since 1952.
The men's coxed four (M4+) competition at the 1976 Summer Olympics took place at the rowing basin on Notre Dame Island in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was held from 18 to 25 July and was won by the team from Soviet Union. There were 14 boats from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The victory was the Soviet Union's first medal in the men's coxed four. East Germany took its third consecutive silver medal, with entirely different crews each time. The defending champion West Germany received bronze this time. Hans-Johann Färber, the only rower from the 1972 gold medal team to return, became the fifth man to earn multiple medals in the event.
The men's eight competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place at Meilahti, Finland. It was held from 20 to 23 July. There were 14 boats from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by the United States, the nation's seventh consecutive and ninth overall gold medal in the men's eight; the Americans had won every time they competed. The Soviet Union took silver in its Olympics debut; Australia's bronze was its first medal in the men's eight.
The men's coxed four competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Albano, Italy. It was held from 31 August to 3 September. There were 21 boats from 21 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the competition. The event was won by the United Team of Germany in its debut in the event. Silver went to the French crew, the nation's first medal in the event since 1936. The defending champions Italy received bronze this time. In an event which saw constant turnover even from consistently strong nations, three members of the Italian team returned from the 1956 gold-medal crew to earn a second medal this Games: Romano Sgheiz, Ivo Stefanoni, and Franco Trincavelli were only the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th men to earn multiple medals in the coxed four.
The men's eight 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 14 boats from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by the United Team of Germany in that combined team's debut; it was the first medal for any German team since the 1936 Games in Berlin and first-ever gold medal in the event for a German team. Canada repeated as silver medalists. Czechoslovakia won its first men's eight medal with a bronze. The United States, which had won the last eight times the event was held and all ten times the nation had appeared before, lost for the first time—finishing fifth, off the podium entirely, despite being heavily favoured once again.
The men's coxed four competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics took place at took place at Lake of Banyoles, Spain. It was held from 27 July to 1 August. There were 12 boats from 12 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Romania, the nation's first victory in the event; the Romanian team had taken silver in 1988. Germany, recently re-united, took silver in 1992; East Germany had won gold in 1988. Two men returned from the 1988 podium to medal again in 1992: Dimitrie Popescu of Romania and Hendrik Reiher of the former East German team. They were the eighth and ninth men to earn multiple medals in the event; due to the removal of the men's coxed four from the programme, they would be the last. Bronze went to Poland, the nation's fourth bronze medal in the coxed four.
The men's eight competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics took place at took place at Lake of Banyoles, Spain. It was held from 28 July to 2 August. There were 14 boats from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Canada, the nation's second victory to match Great Britain, East Germany, and West Germany for second-most among nations. Romania earned its first medal in the men's eight with silver. A reunited Germany took bronze; West Germany had been the defending champion.
