Rowing at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's coxed pair

The men's coxed pair competition at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich took place from 27 August to 2 September at the Olympic Regatta Course in Oberschleißheim.[1] There were 21 boats (63 competitors) from 21 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event.[2] The event was won by East German crew Wolfgang Gunkel, Jörg Lucke, and coxswain Klaus-Dieter Neubert; it was the first medal in the event for East Germany as a separate nation. Czechoslovakia (silver) and Romania (bronze) also won their first medals in the men's coxed pair.

Men's coxed pair
at the Games of the XX Olympiad
Aerial view of the venue in Oberschleißheim
VenueOberschleißheim Regatta Course
Dates27 August – 2 September 1972
Competitors63 from 21 nations
Winning time7:17.25
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Wolfgang Gunkel
Jörg Lucke
Klaus-Dieter Neubert (cox)
 East Germany
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Oldřich Svojanovský
Pavel Svojanovský
Vladimír Petříček (cox)
 Czechoslovakia
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Ștefan Tudor
Petre Ceapura
Ladislau Lovrenschi (cox)
 Romania
 1968
1976 

Background

edit

This was the 13th 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.[2]

Two of the 18 competitors from the 1968 coxed pair Final A returned: rower Wolfgang Gunkel and coxswain Klaus-Dieter Neubert from the fourth-place East German boat. They, along with new second rower Jörg Lucke (a 1968 coxless pairs Olympic champion), had won the 1971 European championship and were among the favorites. Another top team was the Czechoslovak boat, brothers Oldřich Svojanovský and Pavel Svojanovský and cox Vladimír Petříček; they had won the 1969 European title. The Romanian crew, Ștefan Tudor, Petre Ceapura, and cox Ladislau Lovrenschi, were the reigning (1970) World Champions.[2]

Canada and Norway each made their debut in the event. France and the United States each made their 11th appearance, tied for most among nations to that point.

Competition format

edit

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 course used the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912.[3] This rowing competition consisted of three main rounds (quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals), as well as a repechage round that allowed teams that did not win their quarterfinal heats to advance to the semifinals.

  • Heats: Four heats. With 21 boats entered, there were 5 or 6 boats per heat. The top boat in each heat (total of 4 boats) advanced directly to the semifinals; all other boats (17 boats) went to the repechage.
  • Repechage: Four heats. There were 4 or 5 boats in each heat. The top two boats in each heat (total of 8 boats) advanced to the semifinals. The remaining boats (9 boats) were eliminated.
  • Semifinals: Two heats. Each heat consisted of 6 boats. The top three boats in each heat advanced to the "A" final; the other three boats in each heat were sent to a "B" final (7th–12th place classification race).
  • Finals: A main final (Final A) and a 7th–12th place classification race (Final B).

Schedule

edit

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

Date Time Round
Sunday, 27 August 197214:00Quarterfinals
Tuesday, 29 August 197214:00Repechage
Thursday, 31 August 197211:30Semifinals
Friday, 1 September 197210:00Final B
Saturday, 2 September 197211:30Final A

Results

edit

Quarterfinals

edit

The top crew in each heat advanced to the semifinals, with all others sent to the repechages.

Quarterfinal 1

edit

Quarterfinal 2

edit

Quarterfinal 3

edit

Quarterfinal 4

edit

Repechages

edit

Top two finishers in each heat advanced to semi-finals.

Repechage heat 1

edit

Repechage heat 2

edit

Repechage heat 3

edit

Repechage heat 4

edit

Semifinals

edit

The top three finishers in each heat advanced to Final A; others went to Final B.

Semifinal 1

edit

Semifinal 2

edit

Finals

edit

Final B

edit

Final A

edit

References

edit
  1. "Rowing at the 1972 Munich Summer Games: Men's Coxed Pairs". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Coxed Pairs, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  3. "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2021.