The men's
coxed pair
A coxed pair is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain.
The crew consists of two rowers, each having one oar, and a cox. One row ...
competition at the
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
took place at
Henley-on-Thames,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
It was held from 5 to 9 August.
[ There were 9 boats (28 competitors) from 9 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event.][ The event was won by the Danish team, rowers ]Finn Pedersen
Finn Pedersen (30 July 1925 – 14 January 2012) was a Danish rower who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics and in the 1956 Summer Olympics.
He was born in Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zeal ...
and Tage Henriksen and coxswain Carl-Ebbe Andersen; it was the first medal in the men's coxed pair for Denmark. Italy won its second consecutive silver medal (though 12 years apart), with Giovanni Steffè
Giovanni Steffè (8 March 1928 – 19 October 2016) was an Italian rower who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics.
He was born in Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the c ...
, Aldo Tarlao
Aldo Tarlao (26 March 1926 – 12 March 2018) was an Italian rower who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics and in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was born in Grado
Grado may refer to:
People
* Cristina Grado (1939–2016), Italian film ac ...
, and cox Alberto Radi
Alberto Radi (10 December 1919 – 13 July 1989) was an Italian rower who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics.
He was born in Trieste. In 1948 he was the coxswain
The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly it ...
. Hungary also earned its first medal in the event, a bronze for Antal Szendey
Antal Szendey (7 March 1915 – 6 May 1994) was a Hungarian rower who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics and in the 1948 Summer Olympics.
He was born in Erzsébetfalva. In 1936 he was a crew member of the Hungarian boat which finished fifth ...
, Béla Zsitnik
Béla Zsitnik (17 December 1924 – 12 January 2019) was a Hungarian rower who competed in the 1948, 1952, and 1960 Summer Olympics.
Early life
He was born in Győr
Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the ...
, and cox Róbert Zimonyi
Róbert Zimonyi (18 April 1918 – 2 February 2004) was a Hungarian-born American rowing coxswain. He competed for Hungary in various events at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics and won a bronze medal in coxed pairs. After the Hungarian Revolution of ...
. The French three-Games pre-war podium streak ended.
Background
This was the seventh appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The men's coxed pair was one of the original four events in 1900, but was not held in 1904, 1908, or 1912. It returned to the programme after World War I and was held every Games from 1924 to 1992, when it (along with the men's coxed four) was replaced with the men's lightweight double sculls and men's lightweight coxless four.
None of the 18 competitors from the 1936 coxed pair final returned. The Hungarian rowers were a slight favorite; Antal Szendey
Antal Szendey (7 March 1915 – 6 May 1994) was a Hungarian rower who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics and in the 1948 Summer Olympics.
He was born in Erzsébetfalva. In 1936 he was a crew member of the Hungarian boat which finished fifth ...
and Béla Zsitnik
Béla Zsitnik (17 December 1924 – 12 January 2019) was a Hungarian rower who competed in the 1948, 1952, and 1960 Summer Olympics.
Early life
He was born in Győr
Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the ...
were the reigning European champions.[
Argentina, Great Britain, and Greece each made their debut in the event. France made its seventh appearance, the only nation to have competed in all editions of the event to that point.
]
Competition format
The coxed pair event featured three-person boats, with two 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 tournament expanded to four rounds: quarterfinals, a repechage, semifinals, and a final.
The venue, Henley-on-Thames, imposed certain restrictions and modifications to the format. The course could handle only three boats at a time (and this required expansion of the typical Henley course), so the six-boat final introduced in 1936 was not possible this time.[Official Report, p. 418.] The course distance was also modified; instead of either the 2000 metres distance that was standard for the Olympics or the 1 mile 550 yards (2112 metres) standard at Henley, a course that was somewhat shorter than either was used. Sources disagree on the exact distance: 1929 metres is listed by the Official Report,[ though other sources say 1850 metres.]
* Quarterfinals: There were 4 quarterfinals, ranging from 1 to 3 boats each. The winner of each heat (4 boats total) advanced directly to the semifinals; all other boats (5 boats total) went to the repechage.
* Repechage: There were 2 repechage heats, with 2 or 3 boats each. The winner of each heat (2 boats) rejoined the quarterfinal winners in the semifinals; all other boats (3 total) were eliminated.
* Semifinals: There were 3 semifinals, each with 2 boats. The winner of each heat advanced to the final; the remaining boats were eliminated.
* Final: A single final, with 3 boats.
Schedule
All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1
UTC+01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2019-02-07T23:28:34+01:00. This time is used in:
*Central European Time
*West Africa Time
*Western European Summer Time
**B ...
)
Results
The following rowers took part:[
]
Quarterfinals
Quarterfinal 1
Quarterfinal 2
Quarterfinal 3
Quarterfinal 4
Repechage
Repechage heat 1
Repechage heat 2
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
Semifinal 2
Semifinal 3
Final
Results summary
References
External links
Official Olympic Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowing at the 1948 Summer Olympics - Men's coxed pair
Rowing at the 1948 Summer Olympics