Rowing at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's single sculls

Men's single sculls at the Games of the XVI Olympiad
Gold medalist Vyacheslav Ivanov (1964)
Venue	Lake Wendouree
Dates	23–27 November
Competitors	12 from 12 nations
Winning time	8:02.5
Medalists
Vyacheslav Ivanov  Soviet Union Stuart Mackenzie  Australia John B. Kelly Jr.  United States
← 1952 1960  →

Rowing at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Single sculls	men
Double sculls	men
Coxless pair	men
Coxed pair	men
Coxless four	men
Coxed four	men
Eight	men
v t e

The men's

Background

This was the 12th 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.^[2]

Three of the 18 single scullers from the 1952 Games returned: bronze medalist

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 used the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912.^[4]

The competition dropped the second repechage after the semifinals, used in 1952. The tournament featured four rounds: quarterfinals, a repechage, semifinals, and a final.

• Quarterfinals: Three heats of 4 boats each. Top two boats in each heat advance to the semifinals, remaining boats to the repechage. No eliminations.
• Repechage: Two heats of 3 boats each. The winner of each heat rejoined the quarterfinal winners in the semifinals, with the remaining 4 boats (2nd and 3rd in each heat) eliminated.
• Semifinals: Two heats of 4 boats each. The top two boats in each heat advanced to the final, the remaining boats (4 total) were eliminated.
• Final: One heat of 4 boats.

Schedule

All times are

Results

Quarterfinals

The quarterfinals were held on 23 November. The first two rowers in each heat advanced to the semifinals, while the others went to the repechage.

Quarterfinal 1

Rank	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Vyacheslav Ivanov	Soviet Union	7:26.1	Q
2	Stuart Mackenzie	Australia	7:28.8	Q
3	James Hill	New Zealand	7:30.1	R
4	Ferdinand Rabeder	Austria	7:36.0	R

Quarterfinal 2

Rank	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Perica Vlašić	Yugoslavia	7:31.3	Q
2	Klaus von Fersen	United Team of Germany	7:34.4	Q
3	Stefano Martinoli	Italy	7:36.5	R
4	Nikos Hatzigiakoumis	Greece	7:51.5	R

Quarterfinal 3

Rank	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	John B. Kelly Jr.	United States	7:24.8	Q
2	Teodor Kocerka	Poland	7:28.1	Q
3	Tony Fox	Great Britain	7:36.7	R
4	Jorge Roesler	Mexico	8:24.3	R

Repechage

The repechage round was held on 24 November, with three rowers for each repechage. The winner of the repechage is qualified for the semifinals.

Repechage heat 1

Rank	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	James Hill	New Zealand	8:29.9	Q
2	Nikos Hatzigiakoumis	Greece	11:00.4
—	Jorge Roesler	Mexico	DNF

Repechage heat 2

Rank	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Stefano Martinoli	Italy	9:11.8	Q
2	Ferdinand Rabeder	Austria	9:16.4
3	Tony Fox	Great Britain	9:31.6

Semifinals

The semifinals were held on 26 November. The first two rowers in each semifinal advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Rank	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Vyacheslav Ivanov	Soviet Union	9:02.7	Q
2	Teodor Kocerka	Poland	9:05.7	Q
3	James Hill	New Zealand	9:12.5
4	Klaus von Fersen	United Team of Germany	9:23.2

Semifinal 2

Rank	Rower	Nation	Time	Notes
1	John B. Kelly Jr.	United States	9:12.5	Q
2	Stuart Mackenzie	Australia	9:19.5	Q
3	Perica Vlašić	Yugoslavia	9:32.2
4	Stefano Martinoli	Italy	9:35.7

Final

The final round of men's single sculls was held on 27 November.

Rank	Rower	Nation	Time
	Vyacheslav Ivanov	Soviet Union	8:02.5
	Stuart Mackenzie	Australia	8:07.7
	John B. Kelly Jr.	United States	8:11.8
4	Teodor Kocerka	Poland	8:12.9

Results summary

Rank	Rower	Nation	Quarterfinals	Repechage	Semifinals	Final
	Vyacheslav Ivanov	Soviet Union	7:26.1	Bye	9:02.7	8:02.5
	Stuart Mackenzie	Australia	7:28.8	Bye	9:19.5	8:07.7
	John B. Kelly Jr.	United States	7:24.8	Bye	9:12.5	8:11.8
4	Teodor Kocerka	Poland	7:28.1	Bye	9:05.7	8:12.9
5	James Hill	New Zealand	7:30.1	8:29.9	9:12.5	Did not advance
6	Klaus von Fersen	United Team of Germany	7:34.4	Bye	9:23.2
7	Perica Vlašić	Yugoslavia	7:31.3	Bye	9:32.2
8	Stefano Martinoli	Italy	7:36.5	9:11.8	9:35.7
9	Ferdinand Rabeder	Austria	7:36.0	9:16.4	Did not advance
10	Tony Fox	Great Britain	7:36.7	9:31.6
11	Nikos Hatzigiakoumis	Greece	7:51.5	11:00.4
12	Jorge Roesler	Mexico	8:24.3	DNF

References