Rowing at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Men's eight

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Rowing
at the Games of the XXIII Olympiad
Romania stamp commemorating rowing at the 1984 Olympics
VenueLake Casitas
Dates31 July – 5 August
Competitors63 from 7 nations
Winning time5:41.32
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Canada
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  Australia
← 1980
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Rowing at the
1984 Summer Olympics
Single scullsmenwomen
Double scullsmenwomen
Quadruple scullsmenwomen
Coxless pairmenwomen
Coxed pairmen
Coxless fourmen
Coxed fourmenwomen
Eightmenwomen

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[edit]

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[edit]

Competition Gold Silver Bronze
1976 Summer Olympics[3]  East Germany  Great Britain  New Zealand
1977 World Rowing Championships[4]  East Germany  Soviet Union  West Germany
1978 World Rowing Championships[5]  East Germany  West Germany  New Zealand
1979 World Rowing Championships[6]  East Germany  New Zealand  Soviet Union
1980 Summer Olympics[7]  East Germany  Great Britain  Soviet Union
1981 World Rowing Championships[8]  Soviet Union  Great Britain  United States
1982 World Rowing Championships[9]  New Zealand  East Germany  Russia
1983 World Rowing Championships[10]  New Zealand  East Germany  Australia

Competition format[edit]

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.

  • Semifinals: Two heats with three or four boats each. The top boat in each semifinal (2 boats total) went to the "A" final, while the remaining boats (5 total) went to the repechage.
  • Repechage: A single heat with five boats. All five advanced to the "A" final.
  • Finals: The "A" final consisted of all seven boats, competing for the medals and 4th through 7th place.

Schedule[edit]

All times are Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)

Date Time Round
Tuesday, 31 July 1984 Semifinals
Thursday, 2 August 1984 Repechage
Sunday, 5 August 1984 Final

Results[edit]

Semifinal[edit]

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[edit]

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Andy Hay  New Zealand 5:48.19 Q
2
Brian McMahon  Canada 5:50.44 R
3
Colin Moynihan  Great Britain 5:55.18 R
4
Jean-Pierre Huguet-Balent  France 5:59.81 R

Semifinal 2[edit]

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Bob Jaugstetter  United States 5:51.95 Q
2
Gavin Thredgold  Australia 5:56.61 R
3
Rodrigo Abasolo[nb 1]  Chile 6:20.71 R

Repechage[edit]

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

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time Notes
1
Gavin Thredgold  Australia 5:51.68 Q
2
Brian McMahon  Canada 5:56.44 Q
3
Colin Moynihan  Great Britain 6:00.45 Q
4
Rodrigo Abasolo  Chile 6:10.98 Q
5
Jean-Pierre Huguet-Balent  France 6:18.71 Q

Final[edit]

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

Rank Rowers Coxswain Nation Time
1st place, gold medalist(s)
Brian McMahon  Canada 5:41.32
2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Bob Jaugstetter  United States 5:41.74
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Gavin Thredgold  Australia 5:43.40
4
Andy Hay  New Zealand 5:44.14
5
Colin Moynihan  Great Britain 5:47.01
6
Jean-Pierre Huguet-Balent  France 5:49.52
7
Rodrigo Abasolo  Chile 6:07.03

Footnotes[edit]

  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[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Eight, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "1977 World Rowing Championships: (M8+) Men's Eight - Final". WorldRowing.com. International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  5. ^ a b "1978 World Rowing Championships: (M8+) Men's Eight - Final". WorldRowing.com. International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  6. ^ a b "1979 World Rowing Championships: (M8+) Men's Eight - Final". WorldRowing.com. International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  7. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "1981 World Rowing Championships: (M8+) Men's Eight - Final". WorldRowing.com. International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  9. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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.

References[edit]

  • Perelman, Richard B., ed. (1985). Official Report Los Angeles 1984, Volume 1: Organization and Planning. Los Angeles: Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee.
  • Perelman, Richard B., ed. (1985). Official Report Los Angeles 1984, Volume 2: Competition and Summary and Results. Los Angeles: Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee.
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