The men's eight (M8+) competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

was held from August 11 to August 17 at the

Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park The Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park () was built for the rowing, canoeing and 10 km open-water swimming events in the 2008 Summer Olympics. It is located in Mapo Village in the Shunyi District in Beijing. The first competitions at the venue ...

. Seven of nine national teams returned from the men's eight competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics to compete again, joined by the host nation. A total of 75 competitors took part, with three substitutions made during the competition. The event was won by Canada, the nation's first victory in the men's eight since 1992 and third overall (tying Great Britain for second-most, behind the United States' 12). The British team took silver, with the Americans finishing with the bronze medal.

Background

This was the 25th appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The men's eight has been held every time that rowing has been contested, beginning in 1900. The field was competitive. The top two teams were both from North America: the United States was the reigning Olympic champion, the 2005 World Champion, and the 2007 Pan American champion; Canada was the reigning (2007) World Champion. Germany was also strong, winning the 2006 World Championship and being the runner-up in 2007. For the second consecutive Games, no nations made their debut in the event. The United States made its 22nd appearance, most among nations to that point.

Qualification

Nations had been limited to one boat each since 1920. The 8 qualifiers were: * 7 boats from the 2007 World Championships * 1 boat from the Final Qualification Regatta

Competition format

The 2008 Summer Olympics M8+ rowing competition consisted of eight teams, split into two four-team heats. Each team fielded a boat crewed by eight rowers and a

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boa ...

. Each rower used a single oar, with four oars on each side of the boat. The winner of each heat qualified for the "Final A" (or medal final). The remaining six teams competed in the

repechage Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...

round, with the top four from that round qualifying for the "Final A" round. The last two teams in the repechage competed in the "Final B". The final ranking for

rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowing competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 9 to August 17, at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. Qualification Medal table Medal summary Men's events Women's events See also *Rowing at ...

was based on the order of finish in the two finals. The top three of the "Final A" teams earned Olympic medals for placing first, second, and third, while the remaining "Final A" teams placed fourth through sixth, according to their "Final A" finish. The "Final B" competition determined who places seventh and eight in the event's final ranking.

Schedule

All times are

China Standard Time The time in China follows a single standard time offset of UTC+08:00 (eight hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time), even though the country spans almost five geographical time zones. The official national standard time is called ''Beijing T ...

(

UTC+8 UTC+08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +08:00. With an estimated population of 1.708 billion living within the time zone, roughly 24% of the world population, it is the most populous time zone in the world, as well as a ...

)

Results

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 2

Repechage

Finals

Final B

Final A

The winners of the heats,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, took the gold and silver medals; the winner of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, took the bronze. Canada's Olympic M8+ rowing championship followed their 2007 World M8+ Rowing Championship, making the Canadian crew the first world champion in 35 years to follow up with Olympic gold. Canada finished in 5:23.89, about four seconds off the world record time of 5:19.85 set by the U.S. team during the second heat of the Men's eight at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.Results Men's Eight Final A
from the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowing At The 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's Eight Rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics Men's events at the 2008 Summer Olympics