The 1962 World Rowing Championships were the inaugural
world championships in rowing. The competition was held in September 1962 on the
Rotsee
__NOTOC__
The Rotsee (previously known as Rootsee) is a natural rowing lake on the northern edge of Lucerne, Switzerland. It is regarded as one of the best rowing venues in the world.
Description and location
The lake and its surrounding area is ...
in
Lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
, Switzerland.
Rowers from West Germany dominated the competition, winning five of the seven boat classes.
Background
The
Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron
World Rowing, also known as the World Rowing Federation (former abbreviation FISA; french: Fédération internationale des sociétés d'aviron), is the international governing body for rowing. Its current president is Jean-Christophe Rolland who ...
(FISA) decided in 1961 that, like at the Olympics, rowers from the whole world should compete for a championship title; thus far, they had only organised the
European Rowing Championships
The European Rowing Championships is an international Rowing regatta organised by FISA (the International Rowing Federation) for European rowing nations, plus Israel which, though not a member of the European federation is treated as a European ...
, although they were open to rowers from outside of Europe.
Prior to the
1974 World Rowing Championships
The 1974 World Rowing Championships was the fourth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 4 to 8 September 1974 (for men) and from 29 August to 1 September 1974 (for women) on the Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. The event was significantly ...
, only men competed.
Seven boat classes were part of the inaugural world championships that was held from 6 to 9 September on the Swiss Rotsee. There were 401 competitors from 24 countries (counting East and West Germany as one country) with 107 boats at the competition. Between 13 (double scull) and 17 (coxless pair) competed per boat class.
German rowers
FISA did not recognise East Germany, hence only one German crew was permitted per event. Selection trials between East and West German crews were held on 3 September on the Rotsee, three days before the start of the championships.
As was predicted by East German media outlets, West German crews would win in six of the seven categories, with
1960 Olympic single scull silver medal winner
Achim Hill
Achim Hill (1 April 1935 – 4 August 2015) was a German rower who competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1960 Summer Olympics and in the 1964 Summer Olympics and for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics. He was born in Köpenick. ...
the only successful East German qualifier, beating Edgar Heidorn from
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
.
During the world championships, Hill did not proceed beyond the heats, though.
Medal summary
Medalists at the 1962 World Rowing Championships:
Men's events
Event codes
Medal table
The countries that did compete but did not win medals were Denmark and the Netherlands (they had entered 7 boats each), Czechoslovakia (6 boats), Norway and Poland (5 boats each), Belgium, Japan and Sweden (4 boats each), Australia, Finland and Canada (3 boats each), Israel, Yugoslavia, and Hungary (2 boats each), and New Zealand and Portugal (1 boat each).
Finals
References
{{World Rowing Championships
World Rowing Championships
Rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
Rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
Sport in Lucerne
World Rowing Championships
The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the ...
Rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...
Rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...