Coxless Fours, Men

The Magdalen College (Oxford) Boat Club had won the Stewards’ Challenge Cup at Henley in both 1907 and 1908. The winners in 1905-06 had been a four representing the Leander Club, so the final of this event brought the two top fours from Britain over the past few years. European championships in this era were only held for coxed fours, and Belgian and Italy dominated this class, but did not enter for the Olympics.

In the final, the Magdalen four opened at 38 strokes and was a length ahead at the half-way point. The Oxonian crew gradually increased their lead to win by a margin described variously as 1 or 2 lengths.

The silver and bronze medalists listed below are controversial. It seems likely that only gold medals, and no silver or bronze medals, were given. The rules, as given in the 1908 Official Report (p. 528), note, “The Winners or Winner of the events will each receive the British Olympic Council’s Gold Medal for the Olympic Games of 1908.” And on another page of the 1908 Official Report (p. 37), one finds under Rowing, “Prizes: - Gold Olympic Medals to the winners in each Event.” There is no mention of silver or bronze medals in either place. In the results section of the 1908 Official Report (p. 358). the four rowing events are listed, with only the winners listed under gold medals. No silver or bronze medal placements are listed.

Because of the set-up of the Henley course, only two crews or sculls competed at any one time. Thus the semi-finals and finals consisted of only two crews or single scullers. Certainly the losing finalist would seem to be considered the “silver medalist” although we do not know if those rowers actually received such a medal. In addition, it would seem natural, and consistent with other Olympic sports with head-to-head formats, such as boxing and tennis, to consider the losing semi-finalists as “bronze medalists.”

Olympic statisticians vary on the listing of these results. Erich Kamper, in Encyclopaedia of the Olympic Games, listed the losing semi-finalists in the single sculls and eights as finishing third, but he did not list the losing semi-finalists that way in the coxed pairs or coxed fours. Both Volker Kluge (Die Olympischen Spiele von 1896 bis 1980) and David Wallechinsky (The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics) consider all the losing semi-finalists as finishing in 3rd place. But in his more recent book, Olympische Sommerspiele: Die Chronik I, Kluge did not describe the losing semi-finalists as bronze medalists.

However, in keeping with our Guidelines (see Updates–>Guidelines), we have considered the losing finalists as silver medalists (2nd place) and both the losing semi-finalists as bronze medalists (3rd place). In those guidelines we note, “we consider all participants being placed first, second or third in the final standings to have received gold, silver or bronze medals respectively.”