Rowing at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's single sculls

The men's single sculls competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Wendouree, Ballarat, Australia. The event was held from 23 to 27 November.[1]

Men's single sculls at the Games of the XVI Olympiad
Venue	Lake Wendouree
Date	23–27 November
Competitors	12 from 12 nations
Medalists
Vyacheslav Ivanov  Soviet Union Stuart MacKenzie  Australia John B. Kelly Jr.  United States

Heats

Heats were held on 23 November. First two rowers in each heat advanced to semi-finals, while the others to repechage.

Heat 1

Rank	Athlete name	Country	Time	Notes
1	Vyacheslav Ivanov	Soviet Union (URS)	7:26.1	SF
2	Stuart MacKenzie	Australia (AUS)	7:28.8	SF
3	James Hill	New Zealand (NZL)	7:30.1	R
4	Ferdinand Rabeder	Austria (AUT)	7:36.0	R

Heat 2

Rank	Athlete name	Country	Time	Notes
1	Perica Vlašić	Yugoslavia (YUG)	7:31.3	SF
2	Klaus von Fersen	United Team of Germany (EUA)	7:34.4	SF
3	Stefano Martinoli	Italy (ITA)	7:36.5	R
4	Nikos Hatzigiakoumis	Greece (GRE)	7:51.5	R

Heat 3

Rank	Athlete name	Country	Time	Notes
1	John B. Kelly Jr.	United States (USA)	7:24.8	SF
2	Teodor Kocerka	Poland (POL)	7:28.1	SF
3	Tony Fox	Great Britain (GBR)	7:36.7	R
4	Jorge Roesler	Mexico (MEX)	8:24.3	R

Repechage

The repechage round was held on 24 November, with three rower for each repechage. The winner of the repechage is qualified for the semi-finals.

Repechage 1

Rank	Athlete name	Country	Time	Notes
1	James Hill	New Zealand (NZL)	8:29.9	SF
2	Nikos Hatzigiakoumis	Greece (GRE)	11:00.4
	Jorge Roesler	Mexico (MEX)	-	DNF

Repechage 2

Rank	Athlete name	Country	Time	Notes
1	Stefano Martinoli	Italy (ITA)	9:11.8	SF
2	Ferdinand Rabeder	Austria (AUT)	9:16.4
3	Tony Fox	Great Britain (GBR)	9:31.6

Semifinal

The semi-finals were held on 26 November, first two rowers in each semi-final advanced to the final.

Semifinal 1

Rank	Athlete name	Country	Time	Notes
1	Vyacheslav Ivanov	Soviet Union (URS)	9:02.7	F
2	Teodor Kocerka	Poland (POL)	9:05.7	F
3	James Hill	New Zealand (NZL)	9:12.5
4	Klaus von Fersen	United Team of Germany (EUA)	9:23.2

Semifinal 2

Rank	Athlete name	Country	Time	Notes
1	John B. Kelly Jr.	United States (USA)	9:12.5	F
2	Stuart MacKenzie	Australia (AUS)	9:19.5	F
3	Perica Vlašić	Yugoslavia (YUG)	9:32.2
4	Stefano Martinoli	Italy (ITA)	9:35.7

Final

The final round of men’s single sculls was held on 27 November.

Rank	Athlete name	Country	Time	Notes
	Vyacheslav Ivanov	Soviet Union (URS)	8:02.5
	Stuart MacKenzie	Australia (AUS)	8:07.7
	John B. Kelly Jr.	United States (USA)	8:11.8
4	Teodor Kocerka	Poland (POL)	8:12.9

Ivanov was so thrilled when he was presented with his gold medal that he jumped up and down with joy-and dropped the medal into Lake Wendouree. He immediately dived into the lake to retrieve it, but couldn't find it. After the games were over he was given a replacement medal.[2]

References

1. "Rowing at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Single Sculls". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
2. Wallechinsky, David (1984). The Complete Book of the Olympics. England: Penguin Books. p. 348. ISBN 0140066322.

External links

• The Official Report of the Organizing Committee for the Games of the XVI Olympiad Melbourne 1956 (PDF) (PDF). pp. 542–544.