The men's coxed pair event was a rowing event conducted as part of 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 American crew Edward Ferry, Conn Findlay, and coxswain Kent Mitchell. Findlay had been on the United States gold medal crew in 1956 and bronze medal crew in 1960; he was the first man to earn two gold medals in the event, as well as the first man to win three medals of any color in the event. Mitchell had also been on the 1960 crew, and was the seventh man to earn multiple medals in the coxed pair. Jacques Morel, Georges Morel, and cox Jean-Claude Darouy took silver to earn France's first medal in the event since 1952. Herman Rouwé, Erik Hartsuiker, Jan Just Bos earned what was formally the Netherlands' first medal in the event; a pair of Dutch rowers had won the first edition in 1900, but had jettisoned their cox in favor of a local French boy between rounds and thus that medal was a "mixed team" medal.
The men's eight was a rowing event held as part of the rowing programme at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It was the second time the event was held at the Olympics. The competition was held on Saturday, July 30, 1904. Two crews, one from the United States and one from Canada, competed. The American team won, successfully defending their Olympic title from 1900.
Henry Reed Welsford was an American Sanitary Engineer who as a young rower competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. In 1924 he won the bronze medal as a member of the American boat in the coxed four event.
Émile Henri Lachapelle was a Swiss rowing coxswain and sailor who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics and in the 1948 Summer Olympics.
The men's coxed four event was part of the rowing programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on 28 and 29 August 1920. It was the third appearance of the event, which had previously been held inaugural rowing competitions in 1900 as well as in 1912. Eight boats, each from a different nation, competed. The medals all went to nations that had not won a medal in the men's coxed four previously: Switzerland and the United States took gold and silver, respectively, in their debuts in the event; Norway took bronze.
The men's eight event was part of the rowing programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on 28 and 29 August 1920. It was the fifth appearance of the event. Eight boats, each from a different nation, competed. It was the first time that nations were limited to a single boat. The event was won by the United States in a final against Great Britain; the two nations had taken all four previous gold medals. Bronze went to Norway, the nation's first medal in the men's eight. In addition to gold medals, the winners received a challenge prize that had been donated by Eugenio Brunetta d'Usseaux before his death in 1919.
Marcus McElhenney is an American coxswain and attorney. He won a bronze medal in the men's eight at the 2008 Summer Olympics, before a career in law and politics.
Klaus-Dieter Ludwig, known as Lucky in rowing circles, was a German coxswain who competed for East Germany in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1980 Summer Olympics. He had a long rowing career and competed on the international stage for 19 seasons, retiring aged 41.
The men's coxed pair event was part of the rowing programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The competition, the third appearance of the event, was held from 14 to 17 July 1924 on the river Seine. Five teams, each from a different nation, competed, for a total of 15 rowers and coxswains. The event was won by Switzerland, with rowers Édouard Candeveau and Alfred Felber and coxswain Émile Lachapelle. The two Swiss rowers had earned bronze in 1920 with a different cox. Defending champion Italian rowers Ercole Olgeni and Giovanni Scatturin took silver, this time with Gino Sopracordevole as their cox. Candeveau, Felber, Olgeni, and Scatturin were the first four men with multiple medals in the event. The United States' debut in the event netted a bronze medal for rowers Leon Butler and Harold Wilson and cox Edward Jennings.
The men's coxed four event was part of the rowing programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. The competition, the fourth appearance of the event, was held from 13 to 17 July 1924 on the river Seine. There were 10 boats from 10 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Switzerland, the nation's second consecutive victory in the event; the two Swiss victories matched Germany for most among nations to that point. France earned its first medal in the event since 1900 with silver. The United States reached the podium for the second straight Games with a bronze medal. Hans Walter, a member of the Swiss crew in 1920 as well as this year, was the first man to win two medals in the event, and the only one to win two golds.
John Albert "Monster" Mathews is an American former competitive rower, U.S. Olympian and Pan American. He was a member of the 1975 World Championship Team to Nottingham, England, where he placed fifth in the coxed pair. Mathews was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Team competing in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal in the men's coxed pair event.
The men's coxed four competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin took place are at Grünau on the Langer See. It was held from 12 to 14 August. There were 16 boats from 16 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by Germany, the second time the nation had won two consecutive gold medals in the men's coxed four. Germany's four gold medals overall was the most any nation won in the event before it was discontinued; four nations won two. Switzerland, which had won three straight medals in the 1920s before not competing in 1932, returned to the podium with a silver medal. Bronze went to France, the nation's first medal in the event since 1924. Both Italy and Poland had two-Games medal streaks broken.
The men's coxed four competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Wendouree, Ballarat, Australia. It was held from 23 to 27 November and was won by the team from Italy. There were 10 boats from 10 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. Italy had previously won this event in 1928, tying Switzerland for second-most wins among nations. Sweden (silver) and Finland (bronze) each won their first medal in the men's coxed four. Switzerland had its three-Games silver-medal streak broken, without a Swiss crew competing.
The men's coxed four (M4+) competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Casitas in Ventura County, California, United States. There were 8 boats from 8 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. It was held from 30 July to 5 August and the dominant nations were missing from the event due to the Eastern Bloc boycott. Great Britain dominated the regatta, winning the nation's first rowing gold since the 1948 Summer Olympics, back then in front of their home crowd at the Henley Royal Regatta course. The 1984 event started Steve Redgrave's Olympic rowing success that would eventually see him win five Olympic gold medals. It was Great Britain's first victory in the men's coxed four and first medal of any colour in the event since 1912. The other medaling nations had also not been to the podium in the coxed four recently; the United States took silver, that nation's first medal in the event since 1952, while New Zealand's bronze was its first medal since 1968.
The men's coxed four competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place at Mei Bay, Helsinki, Finland. It was held from 20 to 23 August and was won by the team from Czechoslovakia. There were 17 boats from 17 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The gold medal was Czechoslovakia's first medal in the men's coxed four. Switzerland earned its third consecutive silver medal, and sixth medal in seven Games dating back to 1920. The reigning champion United States took bronze.
The men's eight (M8+) 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. There were 7 boats from 7 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. New Zealand had won the last two world championships, and the other strong team, East Germany, was absent from the event due to the Eastern Bloc boycott. This made New Zealand the strong favourite. But the final was won by Canada, with the United States and Australia the other medallists, and New Zealand coming a disappointing fourth.
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.
The men's coxed pair competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place at Virgilio Uribe Rowing and Canoeing Course, in the Xochimilco borough of Mexico City. It was held from 13 to 19 October. There were 18 boats from 18 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The event was won by the Italian crew, rowers Primo Baran and Renzo Sambo and coxswain Bruno Cipolla; it was Italy's first victory in the event since 1920 and second overall. The Netherlands made the podium for the second consecutive Games, though with an all-new team: Herman Suselbeek, Hadriaan van Nes, and cox Roderick Rijnders took silver. A Danish boat medaled in the event for the first time since 1952, with Jørn Krab, Harry Jørgensen, and Preben Krab earning bronze. The American medal streak of three Games ended with the United States boat placing fifth.
John DeStefani Hartigan was an American coxswain who twice competed at Olympic Games.
Ken Dreyfuss is an American coxswain. He captained and coxed the 1969 Penn heavyweight crew that broke Harvard's six year winning streak and went on to win three consecutive team championships at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Championships. He competed in the men's coxed pair event at the 1975 World Rowing Championships, the 1975 Pan-American Games, and the 1976 Summer Olympics.
