The 1961 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the

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(Moldau) in the

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. The event for women was held from 18 to 20 August, and 9 countries competed with 32 boats. The event for men was held from 24 to 27 August, and 20 countries entered boats. Men competed in all seven Olympic boat classes (M1x, M2x, M2-, M2+, M4-, M4+, M8+), and just three countries entered boats in all classes: the hosts Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and a combined German team. Women entered in five boat classes (W1x, W2x, W4x+, W4+, W8+). The regatta was held in five lanes, with rowers proceeding in the direction of the river's flow.

German representation

Germany had to enter a combined team. The women from both countries had a qualification event on the

Langer See The Langer See is a lake situated in the south-eastern outskirts of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. The lake is aligned south-east to north-west and forms part of the course of the Dahme (river), River Dahme. The Langer See is approximately ...

in Grünau, which had previously been used as the rowing venue for the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

. The West Germans entered the three sculling boat classes only (W1x, W2x, W4x+), and in all events, the East Germans won the competition. East German teams for the coxed four and the eight complemented a complete team. East Germany nominated its men at the end of July, and following the West German national championships, the West Germans nominated their men's team in early August. There were difficult negotiations between West and East German representatives as to the location for the German qualifications. In the end, the regatta facility on the

Templiner See Templiner See () is a lake in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It stretches to the south and west from the centre of the city of Potsdam. The lake is some long, with a maximum width of and a surface area is . It lies at an elevation of above ...

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

favoured by East Germany was agreed to. The German qualifications were decided on 12 August, with West Germany winning all seven races.

Medal summary

Medallists at the 1971 European Rowing Championships were:

Women's events

Of the nine countries that were represented, only three were from western Europe: Great Britain (coxed four, double scull, single scull), Belgium and the Netherlands (both single scull). Of those, only Britain managed to get two of their boats into the finals;

Penny Chuter Penelope Ann "Penny" Chuter OBE (born 28 July 1942) is a British former international sculler, rowing coach and rowing administrator. Chuter competed for Great Britain in the women's single scull event at the European Rowing Championships each y ...

came fourth in the single scull, and they came fifth in the coxed four. The most successful nation in the women's events was the Soviet Union, with four out of a possible five gold medals.

Men's events

The most successful nation was the Soviet Union, which won three gold medals.

Medals tables

The first table shows the aggregate results for men and women with Germany counted as one country. The overall winner was the Soviet Union with seven gold medals, followed by Germany and then Italy with two gold medals each, but Germany also winning three silver medals whilst Italy did not win silver. The second table shows the aggregate results for men and women with East Germany and West Germany counted as separate countries; all male German winners were West Germans while all female German winners were from the east. The overall winner remains the Soviet Union with seven gold medals, followed by West Germany and then Italy with two gold medals each, but West Germany also winning one silver medal whilst Italy did not win silver. East Germany is ranked sixth with this method of counting medals.

References

{{European Rowing Championships European Rowing Championships

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 ...

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 ...

Sports competitions in Prague