| Men's eight at the Games of the VII Olympiad | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A men's eight race at the 1920 Olympics | ||||||||||
| Venue | Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal | |||||||||
| Dates | 28–29 August 1920 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 72 from 8 nations | |||||||||
| Winning time | 6:05.0 | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Rowing at the 1920 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single sculls | men |
| Double sculls | men |
| Coxed pair | men |
| Coxed four | men |
| Eight | men |
The men'seight event was part of therowing programme at the1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on 28 and 29 August 1920. It was the fifth appearance of the event. Eight boats (72 competitors), each from a different nation, competed.[1] It was the first time that nations were limited to a single boat. The event was won by the United States in a final against Great Britain; the two nations had taken all four previous gold medals (the United States winning in 1900 and 1904, when Great Britain did not compete; Great Britain winning in 1908 and 1912, when the United States did not compete). Bronze went to Norway, the nation's first medal in the men's eight. In addition to gold medals, the winners received a challenge prize that had been donated byEugenio Brunetta d'Usseaux before his death in 1919.[2]
This was the fifth appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The men's eight has been held every time that rowing has been contested, beginning in 1900.[2]
The two-time defending Olympic champion was theLeander Club of Great Britain. The United States had won the previous two Games, both times represented by theVesper Boat Club; in 1920, the American squad came from theUnited States Naval Academy. The two teams were favoured at the 1920 Games. Another contender was Switzerland, the1920 European Rowing Championships winners.[2]
Czechoslovakia and Switzerland each made their debut in the event. Belgium, France, Great Britain, Norway, and the United States each made their third appearance, tying the absent Canada for most among nations to that point.
The "eight" event featured nine-person boats, with eight rowers and a coxswain. It was a sweep rowing event, with the rowers each having one oar (and thus each rowing on one side). The course used the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912.[3]
The 1920 tournament featured three rounds of one-on-one races; with 8 boats in the competition, the bracket was perfectly balanced. There were 4 quarterfinals, 2 semifinals, and a final.
| Date | Time | Round |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, 27 August 1920 | 16:55 | Quarterfinals |
| Saturday, 28 August 1920 | 17:20 | Semifinals |
| Sunday, 29 August 1920 | 17:00 | Final |
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thoralf Hagen |  Norway | 6:32.2 | Q | |
| 2 | Karel Čížek |  Czechoslovakia | 6:43.0 |
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robin Johnstone |  Great Britain | 6:19.0 | Q | |
| 2 | Paul Staub |  Switzerland | 6:21.4 |
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sherm Clark |  United States | 6:24.0 | Q | |
| 2 | Joseph Crickx[4][5][6] |  Belgium | 6:40.0 |
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernest Barberolle |  France | 6:37.0 | Q | |
| 2 | Liong Siang Sie |  Netherlands | 6:38.2 |
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robin Johnstone | Great Britain | 6:26.4 | Q | |
 | Thoralf Hagen | Norway | 6:36.0 |
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sherm Clark | United States | 6:24.0 | Q | |
| 2 | Ernest Barberolle | France | 6:42.6 |
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sherm Clark | United States | 6:05.0 | |
 | Robin Johnstone | Great Britain | 6:05.8 |
