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Coxless Fours, Men

Date5 – 9 August 1948
StatusOlympic
LocationHenley Royal Regatta Course, Henley-on-Thames
Participants40 from 10 countries
Format1,929 metres

Formerly prominent, but having lost their long-held Olympic title in 1936, Great Britain was nonetheless a force to be reckoned with in the coxless fours at a home Olympics. In London the nation was represented by Peter Kirkpatrick, Hank Rushmere, Tom Christie, and Tony Butcher of the Thames Rowing Club, the organization that had won the 1947 and 1948 editions of the Stewards’ Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta. The favorites, however, were the Italian quartet of Giuseppe Moioli, Elio Morille, Giovanni Invernizzi, and Francesco Faggi, who were the reigning European Champions and would go on to hold that crown for two more years. These two nations were comfortably ahead of the rest of the pack in the opening round.

In the semifinals, however, the Britons were dealt a surprising defeat at the hands of the Danes, represented by Ib Storm Larsen, Helge Muxoll Schröder, Aksel Bonde, and Helge Halkjær, who exited the round with the fastest time. Also advancing to the final were Americans Bob Perew, Greg Gates, Stu Griffing, and Fred Kingsbury, although with a time that was nearly 30 seconds slower than either Italy or Denmark’s. The Italians led the pack for the entire race and, although the Danes were able to press them most of the time, they won the gold handily and left Denmark with a silver medal. The Americans, never a genuine threat, settled for bronze after finishing over four seconds behind the Danes.

PosCompetitorsNOC
1ItalyITAGold
Giuseppe MoioliElio MorilleGiovanni InvernizziFranco Faggi
2DenmarkDENSilver
Helge HalkjærAksel BondeHelge Muxoll SchrøderIb Storm Larsen
3United StatesUSABronze
Fred KingsburyStu GriffingGreg GatesBob Perew
2 h1 r3/4NetherlandsNED
Hein van SuylekomSietze HaarsmaHan DekkerHan van den Berg
2 h2 r3/4Great BritainGBR
Peter KirkpatrickHank RushmereTom ChristieTony Butcher
2 h3 r3/4South AfricaRSA
Edgar RamsayAustin IkinDes MayberyClaude Kietzman
2 h1 r2/4ArgentinaARG
Julio CuratellaAlberto MaderoÓscar ZolezziÓscar Almirón
2 h2 r2/4CzechoslovakiaTCH
Václav RoubíkJosef KalašJosef SchejbalKarel Vaněk
3 h1 r2/4YugoslaviaYUG
Petar OzretićIvo LipanovićMate MojtićKlement Alujević
DNS h2 r2/4HungaryHUN
Miklós ZágonLajos NagyTibor NádasJózsef SátoriBéla Nyilassy (DNS)

Round One

Date5 August 1948
FormatWinner of each heat advanced to the semi-finals.

Heat #1

PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime
11 (Berks)ItalyITA6:34.8Q
Franco FaggiGiovanni InvernizziElio MorilleGiuseppe Moioli
23 (Bucks)DenmarkDEN6:40.5
Ib Storm LarsenHelge Muxoll SchrøderAksel BondeHelge Halkjær
32 (Centre)South AfricaRSA6:58.6
Claude KietzmanDes MayberyAustin IkinEdgar Ramsay

Heat #2

PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime
13 (Bucks)United StatesUSA6:43.8Q
Bob PerewGreg GatesStu GriffingFred Kingsbury
21 (Berks)ArgentinaARG6:51.0
Óscar AlmirónÓscar ZolezziAlberto MaderoJulio Curatella
32 (Centre)HungaryHUN7:36.7
József SátoriTibor NádasLajos NagyMiklós ZágonBéla Nyilassy (DNS)

Heat #3

PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime
13 (Bucks)Great BritainGBR6:37.0Q
Tony ButcherTom ChristieHank RushmerePeter Kirkpatrick
21 (Berks)CzechoslovakiaTCH6:44.9
Karel VaněkJosef SchejbalJosef KalašVáclav Roubík

Heat #4

PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime
13 (Bucks)NetherlandsNED6:47.1Q
Han van den BergHan DekkerSietze HaarsmaHein van Suylekom
21 (Berks)YugoslaviaYUG6:57.1
Klement AlujevićMate MojtićIvo LipanovićPetar Ozretić

Round One Repêchage

Date6 August 1948
FormatWinner of each heat advanced to the semi-finals

Heat #1

PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime
13 (Bucks)South AfricaRSA6:49.7Q
Claude KietzmanDes MayberyAustin IkinEdgar Ramsay
21 (Berks)ArgentinaARG6:50.9
Óscar AlmirónÓscar ZolezziAlberto MaderoJulio Curatella
32 (Centre)YugoslaviaYUG6:59.4
Klement AlujevićMate MojtićIvo LipanovićPetar Ozretić

Heat #2

PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime
11 (Berks)DenmarkDEN6:35.1Q
Ib Storm LarsenHelge Muxoll SchrøderAksel BondeHelge Halkjær
23 (Bucks)CzechoslovakiaTCH6:41.7
Karel VaněkJosef SchejbalJosef KalašVáclav Roubík

Semi-Finals

Date7 August 1948
FormatWinner of each heat advanced to the final

Heat #1

Time14:15
PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime
13 (Bucks)ItalyITA7:15.0Q
Franco FaggiGiovanni InvernizziElio MorilleGiuseppe Moioli
21 (Berks)NetherlandsNED7:32.0
Han van den BergHan DekkerSietze HaarsmaHein van Suylekom

Heat #2

Time14:30
PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime
11 (Berks)DenmarkDEN7:13.8Q
Ib Storm LarsenHelge Muxoll SchrøderAksel BondeHelge Halkjær
23 (Bucks)Great BritainGBR7:16.3
Tony ButcherTom ChristieHank RushmerePeter Kirkpatrick

Heat #3

Time14:45
PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime
11 (Berks)United StatesUSA7:42.2Q
Bob PerewGreg GatesStu GriffingFred Kingsbury
23 (Bucks)South AfricaRSA7:57.2
Claude KietzmanDes MayberyAustin IkinEdgar Ramsay

Final Round

Date9 August 1948 — 17:00
PosLaneCompetitorsNOCTime
11 (Berks)ItalyITA6:39.0
Franco FaggiGiovanni InvernizziElio MorilleGiuseppe Moioli
22 (Centre)DenmarkDEN6:43.5
Ib Storm LarsenHelge Muxoll SchrøderAksel BondeHelge Halkjær
33 (Bucks)United StatesUSA6:47.7
Bob PerewGreg GatesStu GriffingFred Kingsbury