The men's single sculls competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place at Meilahti, Helsinki, Finland. The event was held from 20 to 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.
Background
This was the 11th appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The single sculls has been held every time that rowing has been contested, beginning in 1900.
Five of the 14 single scullers from the 1948 Games returned: gold medalist Mervyn Wood of Australia, silver medalist Eduardo Risso of Uruguay, fourth-place finisher John B. Kelly Jr. of the United States, eighth-place finisher Ian Stephen of South Africa, and twelfth-place finisher Juan Omedes of Spain. Wood had also won his second Diamond Challenge Sculls earlier in 1952 and was the favorite. Significant challengers included Risso, Kelly, Tony Fox of Great Britain (1951 Diamond Challenge winner), Paul Meyer of Switzerland, and Ian Stephen of South Africa.
Chile, Saar, and the Soviet Union each made their debut in the event. Great Britain made its 10th appearance, most among nations, having missed only the 1904 Games in St. Louis.
Competition format
This rowing event was a single scull event, meaning that each boat was propelled by a single rower. The "scull" portion means that the rower used two oars, one on each side of the boat. The course returned to the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912 (with the exception of 1948).
The competition expanded from previous years to include a second repechage after the semifinals. This brought the tournament to five rounds total: quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final with two repechages after the first two rounds.
Four heats were held in the first round. The first two boats in each heat advanced to the semifinals, while the rest went to the first repechage. The repechage round also consisted of four heats. Only the winner of each heat advanced to the second repechage (these rowers did not compete in the semifinals). The winners of the two semifinal heats advanced directly to the final and the rest competed in the second repechage. Three heats were held in the second repechage, where the winner of each heat advanced to the final.
Schedule
All times are Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3)
Date Time Round Monday, 21 July 1952 9:00 QuarterfinalsFirst repechageSemifinals Tuesday, 22 July 1952 Second repechage Wednesday, 23 July 1952 17:00 Final
Results
Quarterfinals
Quarterfinal 1
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 Tony Fox 7:45.1 2 Ian Stephen 7:47.7 3 Sevi Holmsten 7:52.1 4 Juan Omedes 8:03.1 5 Carlos Adueza 8:22.3
Quarterfinal 2
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 Mervyn Wood 7:44.1 2 Paul Meyer 7:44.5 3 Günther Schütt 7:58.4 4 František Reich 7:59.0 5 Henri Steenacker 8:04.0
Quarterfinal 3
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 John B. Kelly Jr. 7:58.4 2 Teodor Kocerka 7:59.5 3 Ugo Pifferi 8:09.0 4 Hussein El-Alfy 8:33.5
Quarterfinal 4
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 Yuriy Tyukalov 7:47.9 2 Eduardo Risso 7:52.0 3 Henri Butel 8:00.4 4 Rob van Mesdag 8:02.0
First repechage
First repechage heat 1
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 Rob van Mesdag 7:35.6 2 Sevi Holmsten 7:37.2 3 Hussein El-Alfy 8:07.1
First repechage heat 2
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 Günther Schütt 7:38.4 2 Henri Butel 7:41.2 3 Juan Omedes 7:45.1
First repechage heat 3
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 František Reich 7:39.0 2 Ugo Pifferi 7:47.5
First repechage heat 4
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 Henri Steenacker 7:43.8 2 Carlos Adueza 8:08.9
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 Tony Fox 7:54.4 2 Mervyn Wood 8:02.5 3 Eduardo Risso 8:05.9 4 Teodor Kocerka 9:10.6
Semifinal 2
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 Yuriy Tyukalov 7:52.6 2 John B. Kelly Jr. 7:57.3 3 Ian Stephen 8:02.3 4 Paul Meyer 8:07.1
Second repechage
Second repechage heat 1
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 Mervyn Wood 7:45.5 2 Paul Meyer 7:48.3 3 Rob van Mesdag 7:57.2 4 Henri Steenacker 7:59.5
Second repechage heat 2
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 Teodor Kocerka 7:41.8 2 John B. Kelly Jr. 7:42.0 3 František Reich 7:55.0
Second repechage heat 3
Rank Rower Nation Time Notes 1 Ian Stephen 7:38.6 2 Günther Schütt 7:42.9 3 Eduardo Risso 7:50.5
Final
Rank Rower Nation Time Yuriy Tyukalov 8:12.8 Mervyn Wood 8:14.5 Teodor Kocerka 8:19.4 4 Tony Fox 8:22.5 5 Ian Stephen 8:31.4
Results summary
Rank Rower Nation Quarterfinals First repechage Semifinals Second repechage Final Yuriy Tyukalov 7:47.9 7:52.6 8:12.8 Mervyn Wood 7:44.1 8:02.5 7:45.5 8:14.5 Teodor Kocerka 7:59.5 9:10.6 7:41.8 8:19.4 4 Tony Fox 7:45.1 7:54.4 8:22.5 5 Ian Stephen 7:47.7 8:02.3 7:38.6 8:31.4 6 John B. Kelly Jr. 7:58.4 7:57.3 7:42.0 rowspan=7 7 Günther Schütt 7:58.4 7:38.4 7:42.9 8 Paul Meyer 7:44.5 8:07.1 7:48.3 9 Eduardo Risso 7:52.0 8:05.9 7:50.5 10 František Reich 7:59.0 7:39.0 7:55.0 11 Rob van Mesdag 8:02.0 7:35.6 7:57.2 12 Henri Steenacker 8:04.0 7:43.8 7:59.5 13 Sevi Holmsten 7:52.1 7:37.2 rowspan=6 colspan=3 14 Henri Butel 8:00.4 7:41.2 15 Juan Omedes 8:03.1 7:45.1 16 Ugo Pifferi 8:09.0 7:47.5 17 Hussein El-Alfy 8:33.5 8:07.1 18 Carlos Adueza 8:22.3 8:08.9
References
External links