Single Sculls, Women

Romania’s Sanda Toma had won the women’s single sculls event at the 1980 Summer Olympics, as well as the subsequent World Championships, but had then bowed out of international competition in favor of her compatriot Valeria Roşca-Răcilă, a bronze medalist in the double sculls at the 1980 Games. Răcilă had not fared as well as Toma at the World Championships, however, with a best finish of silver at the 1982 edition. Still, in the absence of the past two World Champions from the Soviet Union and East Germany, due to the Soviet-led boycott, the Romanian was probably the favorite to take the title at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The only other World Championship medalists in Los Angeles were Stephanie Foster of New Zealand, who had won bronze in 1982, and Beryl Mitchell of Great Britain, who had captured silver in 1981, although María Fernanda de la Fuente of Mexico, the runner-up at the 1983 Pan American Games, was also present.

The opening heats were won by Răcilă, Mitchell, and American Carlie Geer with the three fastest times, although Canadian Andrea Schreiner was only 0.02 seconds away from tying Mitchell. In the final, Răcilă maintained a comfortable lead through the finish line and won gold, while Geer completed the course a few seconds later as a surprise silver medalist. Even more surprising, however, was Ann Haesebrouck of Belgium, who snuck in ahead of Schreiner by 0.25 seconds to take bronze. Along with Pierre-Marie Deloof and Dirk Crois’ silver in the men’s double sculls, Haesebrouck’s third-place finish was one of her nation’s first two Olympic rowing medals since Michel Knuysen and Bob Baetens took silver in the coxless pairs in 1952.