The men's coxed four competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place at Misari Regatta, South Korea.[1] It was held from 19 to 24 September.[2] There were 14 boats (71 competitors, with Romania making one substitution) from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event.[2] The event was won by East Germany, returning to the top of the podium after the Soviet-led boycott in 1984 prevented the East Germans from defending their 1980 Olympic title. Silver went to Romania, its first medal in the men's coxed four. New Zealand took a second consecutive bronze medal in the event.
| Men's coxed four at the Games of the XXIV Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The final | ||||||||||
| Venue | Misari Regatta | |||||||||
| Date | 19–24 September | |||||||||
| Competitors | 71 from 14 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 6:10.74 | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Background
editThis was the 18th appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The coxed four was one of the four initial events introduced in 1900. It was not held in 1904 or 1908, but was held at every Games from 1912 to 1992 when it (along with the men's coxed pair) was replaced with the men's lightweight double sculls and men's lightweight coxless four.[2]
East Germany was dominant in the men's coxed four, winning 7 of the last 9 World Championships (and placing second and third in the other two) as well as winning the 1980 Olympics; a boycott was seemingly the only way to keep the East Germans off the podium, as had happened at the 1984 Games. With their return to Olympic competition in 1988, they were heavily favoured. Great Britain, the defending Olympic champion from a reduced field, was a potential challenger. The Soviet Union, New Zealand, Italy, and the United States had medaled at the last two World Championships and were also outside contenders.[2]
South Korea made its debut in the event, the first nation to do so since 1976. The United States made its 15th appearance, most of any nation to that point.
Competition format
editThe coxed four event featured five-person boats, with four 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 competition used the 2000 metres distance that became standard at the 1912 Olympics and which has been used ever since except at the 1948 Games.[3]
The competition consisted of three main rounds (quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals) as well as a repechage. The 14 boats were divided into three heats for the quarterfinals, with 4 or 5 boats in each heat. The top three boats in each heat (9 boats total) advanced directly to the semifinals. The remaining 5 boats were placed in the repechage. The repechage featured a single heat, with the top three boats advancing to the semifinals and the remaining 2 boats (4th and 5th placers in the repechage) being eliminated (13th and 14th place overall). The 12 semifinalist boats were divided into two heats of 6 boats each. The top three boats in each semifinal (6 boats total) advanced to the "A" final to compete for medals and 4th through 6th place; the bottom three boats in each semifinal were sent to the "B" final for 7th through 12th.[4]
Schedule
editAll times are Korea Standard Time adjusted for daylight savings (UTC+10)
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, 19 September 1988 | 10:25 | Quarterfinals |
| Wednesday, 21 September 1988 | 10:20 | Repechage |
| Thursday, 22 September 1988 | 15:00 | Semifinals |
| Friday, 23 September 1988 | 9:42 | Final B |
| Saturday, 24 September 1988 | 10:50 | Final A |
Results
editQuarterfinals
editQuarterfinal 1
edit| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hendrik Reiher |  East Germany |
6:00.75 | Q | |
| 2 | Martin Ruppel |  West Germany |
6:02.98 | Q | |
| 3 | Andrew Bird |  New Zealand |
6:03.35 | Q | |
| 4 | Dino Lucchetta |  Italy |
6:06.09 | R | |
| 5 | Vaughan Thomas |  Great Britain |
6:20.89 | R |
Quarterfinal 2
edit| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Zembsch |  United States |
6:08.36 | Q | |
| 2 | Oldřich Hejdušek |  Czechoslovakia |
6:11.25 | Q | |
| 3 | Dario Varga |  Yugoslavia |
6:12.33 | Q | |
| 4 | Javier Viñolas |  Spain |
6:14.69 | R | |
| 5 | Terry Paul |  Canada |
6:15.21 | R |
Quarterfinal 3
edit| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marin Gheorghe |  Romania |
6:10.26 | Q | |
| 2 | Sergey Titov |  Soviet Union |
6:16.53 | Q | |
| 3 | Martin Honegger |  Switzerland |
6:27.52 | Q | |
| 4 | Park Seong-nae |  South Korea |
6:57.99 | R |
Repechage
edit| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaughan Thomas | Great Britain |
6:31.11 | Q | |
| 2 | Dino Lucchetta | Italy |
6:32.14 | Q | |
| 3 | Terry Paul | Canada |
6:33.05 | Q | |
| 4 | Javier Viñolas | Spain |
6:34.36 | ||
| 5 | Park Seong-nae | South Korea |
7:19.22 |
Semifinals
editSemifinal 1
edit| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hendrik Reiher | East Germany |
6:07.91 | QA | |
| 2 | Marin Gheorghe | Romania |
6:09.86 | QA | |
| 3 | Andrew Bird | New Zealand |
6:10.41 | QA | |
| 4 | Dino Lucchetta | Italy |
6:15.93 | QB | |
| 5 | Oldřich Hejdušek | Czechoslovakia |
6:20.42 | QB | |
| 6 | Martin Honegger | Switzerland |
7:55.92 | QB |
Semifinal 2
edit| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaughan Thomas | Great Britain |
6:15.22 | QA | |
| 2 | Mark Zembsch | United States |
6:15.30 | QA | |
| 3 | Dario Varga | Yugoslavia |
6:15.72 | QA | |
| 4 | Martin Ruppel | West Germany |
6:15.87 | QB | |
| 5 | Sergey Titov | Soviet Union |
6:16.69 | QB | |
| 6 | Terry Paul | Canada |
6:17.36 | QB |
Finals
editFinal B
edit| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Martin Ruppel | West Germany |
6:42.65 | |
| 8 | Oldřich Hejdušek | Czechoslovakia |
6:43.64 | |
| 9 | Terry Paul | Canada |
6:44.95 | |
| 10 | Dino Lucchetta | Italy |
6:45.39 | |
| — | Martin Honegger | Switzerland |
DNS | |
| Sergey Titov | Soviet Union |
DNS |
Final A
edit| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Hendrik Reiher | East Germany |
6:10.74 | |
 |
Ladislau Lovrenschi | Romania |
6:13.58 | |
 |
Andrew Bird | New Zealand |
6:15.78 | |
| 4 | Vaughan Thomas | Great Britain |
6:18.08 | |
| 5 | Mark Zembsch | United States |
6:18.47 | |
| 6 | Dario Varga | Yugoslavia |
6:23.28 |
Final classification
editReferences
edit- ^ "Rowing at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Men's Coxed Fours". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Coxed Fours, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ "Why Do We Race 2000m? The History Behind the Distance". World Rowing. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ Official Report, vol. 2, pp. 525–27.