1908 Summer Olympics / Rowing

Rowing at the IV Summer Olympics
information
venue	Henley-on-Thames
Competition venue	Thames
Nations	8th
Athletes	81 (all male)
date	28–31 July 1908
decisions	4th
← 1904 St. Louis ← 1906 Athens 1912 Stockholm →

At the IV Olympic Games in 1908 , four competitions were held in rowing . These were held on the Thames , more precisely on the traditional route of the Henley Royal Regatta near Henley-on-Thames , around 60 kilometers west of central London .

Since the 1.5 mile (2,414 m) stretch on the Thames was very narrow, only two boats could compete against each other. The rules of the Amateur Rowing Association of England were used. There were no races for third place in any of the competitions.

It should be noted that in contrast to all other sports, only the gold medals were awarded; The silver and bronze medals given here are fictitious and are only used to make it easier to compare with other Olympic Games.

One

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	GBR	Harry Blackstaffe	9: 26.0
2	GBR	Alexander McCulloch	k. A.
3	GER	Bernhard of Gaza	k. A.
	HUN	Károly Levitzky	k. A.

Date: July 28th to 31st

Nine rowers from six countries competed in this competition. Before the actual heats, there was a qualification for the eighth preliminary place, which the German won from Gaza. However, this was eliminated in the semifinals. In the final, the 40-year-old Blackstaffe beat his compatriot McCulloch, half his age, by a length.

Two without a helmsman

space	country	Athletes	Time (min)
1	GBR	John Fenning , Gordon Thomson	9: 41.0
2	GBR	George Fairbairn , Philip Verdon	k. A.
3	CAN	Frederick Toms , Norman Jackes	k. A.
	GER	Martin Stahnke , Willy Düskow	k. A.

Date: July 28th, 30th and 31st

Four boats from three countries took part in this competition. Therefore, no preliminary runs were necessary and the competition began with the two semi-finals. In the final two boats from the Leander Club from Henley-on-Thames faced each other; Fenning / Thomson clearly won with a 2½ length lead over Fairbairn / Verdon.

Foursome without a helmsman

space	country	Athletes	Time (min)
1	GBR	Magdalen College BC Collier Cudmore , Angus Gillan , Duncan Mackinnon , John Somers-Smith	8: 34.0
2	GBR	Leander Club Philip Filleul , Harold Barker , John Fenning , Gordon Thomson	k. A.
3	NED	Hermannus Höfte , Johan Burk , Bernardus Croon , Albertus Wielsma	k. A.
	CAN	Argonaut Rowing Club Gordon Balfour , Goblet Gale , Charles Riddy , Geoffrey Taylor	k. A.

Date: July 28th and 31st

Four boats from three countries took part in this competition. In the semi-finals, the two British teams clearly prevailed against the foreign competition. In the final, the Leander Club from Henley-on-Thames led up to half of the route, but the Magdalen College team caught up and finally won by 1½ lengths.

Eighth

space	country	Athletes	Time (min)
1	GBR	Leander Club Albert Gladstone , Frederick Kelly , Banner Johnstone , Guy Nickalls , Charles Burnell , Ronald Sanderson , Raymond Etherington-Smith , Henry Bucknall , Gilchrist Maclagan	7: 52.0
2	BEL	Koninklijke Roeivereniging Club Gent Oscar Taelman , Marcel Morimont , Rémy Orban , Polydore Veirman , Georges Mijs , François Vergucht , Oscar de Somville , Rodolphe Poma , Alfred van Landeghem	k. A.
3	GBR	Cambridge University BC Frank Jerwood , Eric Walter Powell , Oswald Carver , Edward Williams , Henry Goldsmith , Harold Kitching , John Burn , Douglas Stuart , Richard Boyle	k. A.
	CAN	Argonaut Rowing Club Toronto Irvine Robertson , Joseph Wright , Julius Thomson , Walter Lewis , Gordon Balfour , Becher Gale , Charles Riddy , Geoffrey Taylor , Douglas Kertland	k. A.

Date: July 29th to 31st

Eight teams had registered, but only six showed up at the start of the heats because the Italians had withdrawn their two boats. The eighth of the Royal Club Nautique de Gand was the only foreign one to reach the finals in these rowing competitions. In the final, however, the Leander Club from Henley-on-Thames prevailed.

Medal table

space	team				total
1	Great Britain	4th	3	1	8th
2	Belgium		1		1
3	Canada			3	3
4th	German Empire			2	2
5	Netherlands			1	1
	Hungary			1	1
total		4th	4th	8th	16

Web links

Commons : Rowing at the 1908 Summer Olympics  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Olympic rowing regatta 1908 at sports-reference.com