The men's eight was one of the competitions in the Rowing at the 1900 Summer Olympics events in Paris. It was held on 25 and 26 August 1900. 5 boats, involving 46 rowers from 5 nations, competed.[1] The event was won by the United States, represented by the Vesper Boat Club. Silver went to the Royal Club Nautique de Gand of Belgium, with bronze to Minerva Amsterdam from the Netherlands.
| Men's eight at the Games of the II Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States men's eight team at the 1900 Games | ||||||||||
| Venue | Seine | |||||||||
| Dates | August 25–26 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 46 from 5 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 6:07.8 | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Background
editThis was the first appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The eight has been held every time that rowing has been contested, beginning in 1900.[2]
Competition format
editThe "eight" event featured nine-person boats, with eight rowers and a coxswain. It was a sweep rowing event, with the rowers each having one oar (and thus each rowing on one side). The distance for each race was 1750 metres, rather than the 2000 metres which was becoming standard even at the time (and has been used in the Olympics since 1912, except in 1948).[3]
The tournament featured two rounds: semifinals and a final.
- Semifinals: Two heats of 2 or 3 boats each. It was intended that the top 2 boats from each heat would advance to a 4-boat final, but when one of the boats in the 2-boat heat did not finish, the 3rd-place boat from the 3-boat heat advanced instead.
- Final: A single final of 4 boats, determining medals and 4th place.
Schedule
edit| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 25 August 1900 | 11:00 | Semifinals |
| Sunday, 26 August 1900 | 17:30 | Final |
Results
editSemifinals
editThe top two boats in each semifinal were intended to advance to the final. However, only one boat in the second semifinal finished, so the third-place boat in the first semifinal advanced. This meant that of the five boats competing in the semifinal, the only one to not advance was the one that did not finish.
Semifinal 1
edit| Rank | Boat | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minerva Amsterdam | Hermanus Brockmann |  Netherlands |
4:59.2 | Q | |
| 2 | Royal Club Nautique de Gand | Rodolphe Poma |  Belgium |
5:00.2 | Q | |
| 3 | Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club | Alexander Gleichmann |  Germany |
5:04.8 | Q |
Semifinal 2
edit| Rank | Boat | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vesper Boat Club | Louis Abell |  United States |
5:15.4 | Q | |
| — | Société Nautique de la Marne | Unknown |  France |
DNF |
Final
edit| Rank | Boat | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Vesper Boat Club | Louis Abell | United States |
6:07.8 | |
 |
Royal Club Nautique de Gand | Rodolphe Poma | Belgium |
6:13.8 | |
 |
Minerva Amsterdam | Hermanus Brockmann | Netherlands |
6:23.0 | |
| 4 | Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club | Unknown | Germany |
6:33.0 |
Results summary
edit| Rank | Boat | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Semifinals | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |
Vesper Boat Club | Louis Abell | United States |
5:15.4 | 6:07.8 | |
| |
Royal Club Nautique de Gand | Rodolphe Poma | Belgium |
5:00.2 | 6:13.8 | |
| |
Minerva Amsterdam | Hermanus Brockmann | Netherlands |
4:59.2 | 6:23.0 | |
| 4 | Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club |
|
Germany |
5:04.8 | 6:33.0 | |
| 5 | Société Nautique de la Marne | Unknown | France |
DNF | Did not advance |
References
edit- ^ "Rowing at the 1900 Paris Summer Games: Men's Coxed Eights". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- ^ "Eight, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
External links
edit- International Olympic Committee medal winners database
- De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Rowing 1900". Accessed 26 February 2006. Available electronically at [1].
- Mallon, Bill (1998). The 1900 Olympic Games, Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0-7864-0378-0.