Olympic Games—1896-1908

Events for rowing were scheduled for the first Olympics but were abandoned due to bad weather. Rowing has been in the Olympic programme ever since. The original events planned were single sculls over a 2000 metres straight course, double sculls straight course gigs with outriggers and four oars with coxswain straight course gigs race for naval crews. The races were due to be held in the harbour of Piraeus but for several days, a storm blew and unfortunately, the weather conditions made the course unrowable.

It was agreed at the Paris Conference of 1894 that Paris would be awarded the Games in recognition of the services of de Coubertin. However, as the Paris World Exhibition was also being conducted, the Olympics took a subordinate role.

The British were the then dominant rowing nation but only sent a single sculler. The racing was therefore perhaps unrepresentative for the time.

There was some controversy over the conduct of the coxed four race which resulted in two Olympic Championships being awarded for the same boat class. It is reported that the competitors and officials could not agree on the rules of racing and two finals were held.

Another matter of interest arose in the coxed pairs. The Dutch crew lost their heat with their named cox, Hermanus Brockmann. For the final they considered him too heavy and used a small French boy who was aged about 7. This cox is considered to be the youngest ever Olympian.

1908 Gold Medal Diploma

As the United States had proven to have the best athletes in the first two Olympic Games, it was thought natural that they should be commissioned to organize the third. Due to distance and cost, the only European nations to attend were Britain, France, Germany and Hungary. Furthermore an internal American dispute as to which city should host the Games further complicated the matter. The result was a poorly organised Games which were even worse than the Paris Games.

Other than a Canadian eight, all competitors were Americans. Accordingly every medal bar one was won by American crews. The Canadians came second in the eights race comprising only two competing crews. There were several other rowing events conducted for intermediate rowers that appear in some Olympic histories.

These Games were to mark the 10th anniversary of the Modern Games. Whilst officially sanctioned, they were never an official Olympic Games.

After the poorly run Games of Paris and St Louis, the cause of Olympism finally won a victory in London. It was a triumph for the Games. Pierre de Coubertin attended the rowing finals and took part in the medal presentations. Australia and New Zealand competed as Australasia as they also did at Stockholm at the next Olympic Games.

The rowing events were conducted at Henley on Thames near Oxford. The course was lengthened to 2400 metres. Despite the course being a 2 lane course, third place getters are recorded in the single sculls and eights. Each country could enter 2 crews per event. One of the rowing highlights was that Harry Blackstaffe, the winner of the single sculls, was 40 years old and twice the age of the second placed sculler.

Australian national Collier R Cudmore (later knighted) from Adelaide competed for England in the coxless four which won. He was competing in the Magdalen College crew from Oxford University where he was studying. He therefore was Australia's most successful sweep rower at the Olympic Games until gold was again won 1992. Upon his return to Australia, he was a prominent member of the Adelaide Rowing Club.