The men's single sculls event was a rowing event conducted as part of the Rowing at the 1964 Summer Olympics programme.[1] It was held from 11 to 15 October at the Toda Rowing Course. There were 13 competitors from 13 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event.[2] The event was won by Vyacheslav Ivanov of the Soviet Union, his third consecutive victory (and the fourth for the Soviet Union) in the event. Ivanov's three gold medals in the event remains (through the 2016 Games) tied for the best results for any individual single sculler (with Pertti Karppinen); only Ekaterina Karsten has more medals in (women's) single sculls, though she took only two golds along with a silver and a bronze. The second spot on the podium was also a repeat of 1960; Achim Hill of the United Team of Germany became the sixth man to win multiple single sculls medals by repeating as silver medalist. Bronze this time went to Gottfried Kottmann of Switzerland, that nation's first medal in the event since 1924.
Background
This was the 14th appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The single sculls has been held every time that rowing has been contested, beginning in 1900.[2]
Only two of the 13 single scullers from the 1960 Games returned, but they were the top two: gold medalist Vyacheslav Ivanov of the Soviet Union and silver medalist Achim Hill of the United Team of Germany. Ivanov had won gold in 1956 as well, along with the 1959, 1961, and 1964 European championships and the inaugural World Championship in 1962. He was a prohibitive favorite to take a third gold medal in the event, especially with the absence of the two strongest potential challengers: New Zealand's James Hill (who had followed a fourth-place finish at the 1960 Games with British Empire and Commonwealth Games championships), who was not in Tokyo, and the United States' Seymour Cromwell (reigning Pan American and Diamond Challenge Sculls champion), who competed only in the double sculls. Long-shot challengers included Achim Hill, Gottfried Kottmann of Switzerland (1963 Diamond Challenge winner), and Vaclav Kozak of Czechoslovakia (1963 European champion); very long-shot challengers were Rob Groen of the Netherlands (runner-up to Kozak and then Ivanov at the European championships in 1963 and 1964) and Alberto Demiddi of Argentina (second to Cromwell at the 1964 Diamond Challenge Sculls).[2]
For the second consecutive Games, no nations made their debut in the event. The United States made its 11th appearance, most among nations competing but one behind Great Britain which was missing the event for only the second time.
Competition format
This rowing event was a single scull event, meaning that each boat was propelled by a single rower. The "scull" portion means that the rower used two oars, one on each side of the boat. The course used the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912.[3]
The 1964 tournament introduced the "B" final, a consolation final that ranked rowers that had not qualified for the main, or "A", final. As in 1960, there were three rounds: semifinals, a repechage, and the final round. Six boats had become a standard final size in 1960 and continued here.
Semifinals: Three heats of 4 or 5 boats each. The top boat in each heat advanced to Final A, the remaining boats (10 total) went to the repechage.
Repechage: Three heats of 3 or 4 boats each. The winner of each heat rejoined the semifinal winners in Final A. The format called for the 2nd and 3rd place boat in each repechage heat to compete in Final B, with the one 4th-place boat in the large heat placing 13th. However, two qualified boats did not compete in Final B and the 4th-place boat did.
Final: Two finals. Final A consisted of the top 6 boats. Final B was intended to place boats 7 through 12, though only 5 boats started.
The top finisher in each of the three repechage heats joined the finalists. The second and third-place finishers competed in a consolation final for 7th-12th places. The fourth-place finisher, in the only repechage with that many competitors, was supposed to be eliminated; however, Plettner competed in Final B while Kozak and Kubiak did not.
