Rowing at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's eight

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Rowing
at the Games of the XXIII Olympiad
ROM 1984 MiNr4059 mt B002.jpg
Romania stamp commemorating rowing at the 1984 Olympics
Venue Lake Casitas
Dates31 July – 5 August
Competitors63 from 7 nations
Winning time5:41.32
Medalists
Gold medal icon.svgFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Silver medal icon.svgFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Bronze medal icon.svgFlag of Australia.svg  Australia
  1980
1988  

The men's eight (M8+) competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Casitas in Ventura County, California, United States. It was held from 31 July to 5 August. There were 7 boats (63 competitors) from 7 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. [1] New Zealand had won the last two world championships, and the other strong team, East Germany, was absent from the event due to the Eastern Bloc boycott. This made New Zealand the strong favourite. But the final was won by Canada, with the United States and Australia the other medallists, and New Zealand coming a disappointing fourth. [2]

Background

This was the 19th 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. [1]

East Germany had for many years been the dominating country for this boat class. From the 1976 Summer Olympics to the 1980 Summer Olympics, the country won every gold at Olympic and World Rowing Championships level. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] At the 1981 World Rowing Championships, East Germany came in fourth place, with the Soviet Union winning gold. [8] In 1982 and 1983, the event was won by New Zealand, with East Germany coming second on both occasions. [9] [10] With the Soviet Bloc boycott affecting the 1984 Summer Olympics, New Zealand was thus regarded as the strong favourite. [2] Another medal contender was the United States; they had won the 1983 Pan American Games. [2]

Chile made its debut in the event. The United States made its 16th appearance, most among nations to that point.

Previous M8+ competitions

CompetitionGoldSilverBronze
1976 Summer Olympics [3] Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
1977 World Rowing Championships [4] Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany
1978 World Rowing Championships [5] Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
1979 World Rowing Championships [6] Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
1980 Summer Olympics [7] Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
1981 World Rowing Championships [8] Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Flag of the United States.svg  United States
1982 World Rowing Championships [9] Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
1983 World Rowing Championships [10] Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia

Competition format

The "eight" event featured nine-person boats, with eight 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 rowing competition consisted of two main rounds (semifinals and finals), as well as a repechage round after the semifinals. However, neither the semifinals nor the repechage eliminated any boats; all seven teams advanced to the "A" final, and no "B" final was held. The course used the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912 (with the exception of 1948). [11] Races were held in up to six lanes, except the final in which (very unusually) seven boats raced.

Schedule

All times are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)

DateTimeRound
Tuesday, 31 July 1984Semifinals
Thursday, 2 August 1984Repechage
Sunday, 5 August 1984Final

Results

Semifinal

The two semifinal heats were rowed on 31 July. The winner of each heat advanced to the final, while the remaining teams went to the repechage. [12]

Semifinal 1

RankRowersCoxswainNationTimeNotes
1 Andy Hay Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 5:48.19Q
2 Brian McMahon Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 5:50.44R
3 Colin Moynihan Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 5:55.18R
4 Jean-Pierre Huguet-Balent Flag of France.svg  France 5:59.81R

Semifinal 2

RankRowersCoxswainNationTimeNotes
1 Bob Jaugstetter Flag of the United States.svg  United States 5:51.95Q
2 Gavin Thredgold Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 5:56.61R
3 Rodrigo Abasolo [nb 1] Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 6:20.71R

Repechage

One heat was rowed in the repechage on 2 August. All five teams advanced to the final. [14] [15]

RankRowersCoxswainNationTimeNotes
1 Gavin Thredgold Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 5:51.68Q
2 Brian McMahon Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 5:56.44Q
3 Colin Moynihan Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 6:00.45Q
4 Rodrigo Abasolo Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 6:10.98Q
5 Jean-Pierre Huguet-Balent Flag of France.svg  France 6:18.71Q

Final

All seven teams that entered the competition rowed in a single final on 5 August. [16]

RankRowersCoxswainNationTime
Gold medal icon.svg Brian McMahon Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 5:41.32
Silver medal icon.svg Bob Jaugstetter Flag of the United States.svg  United States 5:41.74
Bronze medal icon.svg Gavin Thredgold Flag of Australia.svg  Australia 5:43.40
4 Andy Hay Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 5:44.14
5 Colin Moynihan Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 5:47.01
6 Jean-Pierre Huguet-Balent Flag of France.svg  France 5:49.52
7 Rodrigo Abasolo Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 6:07.03

Footnotes

  1. The Chilean rowers are listed as per the official Olympic record, but the listing is wrong, as it has the cox in seat one, when he should be listed for seat nine [13]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Eight, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Coxed Eights". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1976 Montréal Summer Games: Men's Coxed Eights". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 "1977 World Rowing Championships: (M8+) Men's Eight - Final". WorldRowing.com. International Rowing Federation . Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 "1978 World Rowing Championships: (M8+) Men's Eight - Final". WorldRowing.com. International Rowing Federation . Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  6. 1 2 "1979 World Rowing Championships: (M8+) Men's Eight - Final". WorldRowing.com. International Rowing Federation . Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  7. 1 2 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1980 Moskva Summer Games: Men's Coxed Eights". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 "1981 World Rowing Championships: (M8+) Men's Eight - Final". WorldRowing.com. International Rowing Federation . Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  9. 1 2 "1982 World Rowing Championships: (M8+) Men's Eight - Final". WorldRowing.com. International Rowing Federation. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  10. 1 2 "1983 World Rowing Championships: (M8+) Men's Eight - Final". WorldRowing.com. International Rowing Federation . Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  11. "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  12. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Coxed Eights Round One". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  13. Perelman 1985b, p. 529.
  14. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Coxed Eights Round One Repêchage". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  15. Perelman 1985b, p. 530.
  16. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rowing at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Coxed Eights Final Round". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2016.

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References