Single Sculls, Men

As the world record holder, New Zealand’s Mahé Drysdale was the favorite to win gold in the men’s single sculls event in London. Although he had only taken home bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics, he was a five-time World Champion, winning the event in every Championship since 2005 except for 2010, making him one of only two rowers with five World titles in the sport, the other being Germany’s Peter-Michael Kolbe. Drysdale’s 2010 World Championship loss came at the hands of the Czech Republic’s Ondřej Synek, the silver medalist from Beijing and the most recent World Championship and a strong contender for the 2012 Olympic title. The defending Olympic champion, Norway’s Olaf Tufte, had a chance to reach the podium once more, although his form had slipped somewhat from his peak in Beijing. The hometown favorite for Britain was Alan Campbell, whose first Olympic appearance came in 2004 and who had placed second (2009) and third (2010 and 2011) in recent World Championships.

All four favorites passed through the heats but Tufte failed to advance out of the semi-finals after coming last in a heat won by Drysdale. This left Drysdale, Synek, and Campbell as the most likely finishers on the podium, although Sweden’s Lassi Karonen, who had placed sixth in 2008, challenged the trio for the first quarter of the race. At the halfway mark, Drysdale and Synek began distancing themselves beyond the reach of the rest of the pack but, by 1500m, Drysdale had clearly established himself as the front runner and easily nabbed the gold, leaving Synek with his second Olympic silver medal. Campbell and Karonen battled for the bronze right to the line but Campbell, certainly invigorated by the cheers of the home crowd, pulled ahead in the final 150m and took the final spot on the podium.