| | Event type

Lightweight Double Sculls, Men

Date	18 – 24 September 2000
Status	Olympic
Location	Sydney International Regatta Centre, Penrith, New South Wales
Participants	38 from 19 countries

The reigning Olympic champions in the men’s lightweight double sculls, Swiss brothers Markus and Michael Gier, journeyed to the 2000 Summer Olympics to defend their crown but, as they had only won one World Championship medal in the past three years, bronze in 1998, they were not considered the favorites in Sydney. That distinction might have gone to Italians Leonardo Pettinari and Michelangelo Crispi, the reigning World Champions and the 1997 and 1998 runners-up, had Pettinari not had a new partner in the person of Elia Luini. Thus the Polish duo of Tomasz Kucharski and Robert Sycz, 1997 and 1998 World Champions, entered as the favorites. Other notable entrants included Maarten van der Linden and Pepijn Aardewijn of the Netherlands, the defending Olympic runners-up, Argentina’s Ulf Lienhard and Sebastián Massa, the reigning Pan American champions, two-time (1997 and 1999) World bronze medalists Ingo Euler and Bernhard Rühling of Germany, and Australia’s Haimish Karrasch and Bruce Hick, the reigning World runners-up. Hick was also one half of the bronze medalists from the 1996 Games.

Despite having the easiest heat, Italy posted the fastest time of the opening round. The other heats went to Poland, who defeated Switzerland and Argentina, Australia, who overcame Germany, and the French pair of Pascal Touron and Thibaud Chapelle, who bested the Netherlands. Of these nations, only Argentina failed to qualify for the semi-finals after the repêchage. Poland and France were victorious in the semi-finals, with the former eliminating both Australia and the Netherlands with the help of Switzerland and Germany. Poland then took charge of the final and won comfortably, earning its first title in Olympic rowing, with Italy, and then France, coming in behind to round out the podium.

Pos	Pair	NOC
1	Tomasz Kucharski / Robert Sycz	POL	Gold
2	Elia Luini / Leonardo Pettinari	ITA	Silver
3	Pascal Touron / Thibaud Chapelle	FRA	Bronze
4	Ingo Euler / Bernhard Rühling	GER
5	Markus Gier / Michael Gier	SUI
6	Hitoshi Hase / Daisaku Takeda	JPN
7	Haimish Karrasch / Bruce Hick	AUS
8	Vasilios Polymeros / Panagiotis Miliotis	GRE
9	Juan Zunzunegui / Rubén Álvarez	ESP
10	Rómulo Bouzas / Gerardo Gómez	MEX
11	Steve Tucker / Conal Groom	USA
12	Maarten van der Linden / Pepijn Aardewijn	NED
13	Ulf Lienhard / Sebastián Massa	ARG
14	Tom Kay / Tom Middleton	GBR
15	Josef Källström / Anders Båtemyr	SWE
16	Lo Sing Yan / Lui Kam Chi	HKG
17	Zahid Ali Pirzada / Hazrat Islam	PAK
3 h2 r2/4	Raúl León / Osmani Martín	CUB
4 h1 r2/4	Sergey Dmitryaychev / Dmitry Ovechko	RUS

Round One

Date	18 September 2000
Format	Winner if each heat advanced to semi-finals

Heat #1

Time	9:00

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Tomasz Kucharski / Robert Sycz	POL	6:34.28	1:34.90 (1)	3:11.87 (1)	4:50.42 (1)	1:36.97 (1)	1:38.55 (1)	1:43.86 (4)	Q
2	–	Markus Gier / Michael Gier	SUI	6:37.88	1:36.49 (2)	3:15.53 (2)	4:56.13 (2)	1:39.04 (2)	1:40.60 (3)	1:41.75 (3)
3	–	Ulf Lienhard / Sebastián Massa	ARG	6:40.16	1:38.27 (5)	3:18.37 (4)	4:58.57 (4)	1:40.10 (4)	1:40.20 (2)	1:41.59 (2)
4	–	Steve Tucker / Conal Groom	USA	6:42.08	1:37.39 (3)	3:17.19 (3)	4:58.05 (3)	1:39.80 (3)	1:40.86 (4)	1:44.03 (5)
5	–	Josef Källström / Anders Båtemyr	SWE	6:42.67	1:38.07 (4)	3:19.31 (5)	5:01.23 (5)	1:41.24 (5)	1:41.92 (5)	1:41.44 (1)

Heat #2

Time	9:10

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Haimish Karrasch / Bruce Hick	AUS	6:33.48	1:34.73 (1)	3:13.10 (1)	4:51.48 (1)	1:38.37 (2)	1:38.38 (1)	1:42.00 (1)	Q
2	–	Ingo Euler / Bernhard Rühling	GER	6:40.53	1:35.38 (2)	3:13.29 (2)	4:51.73 (2)	1:37.91 (1)	1:38.44 (2)	1:48.80 (4)
3	–	Raúl León / Osmani Martín	CUB	6:42.24	1:37.07 (3)	3:18.35 (3)	5:00.19 (3)	1:41.28 (3)	1:41.84 (3)	1:42.05 (2)
4	–	Sergey Dmitryaychev / Dmitry Ovechko	RUS	6:46.34	1:37.29 (4)	3:19.01 (4)	5:02.99 (4)	1:41.72 (4)	1:43.98 (4)	1:43.35 (3)
5	–	Zahid Ali Pirzada / Hazrat Islam	PAK	7:13.62	1:40.53 (5)	3:30.21 (5)	5:22.35 (5)	1:49.68 (5)	1:52.14 (5)	1:51.27 (5)

Heat #3

Time	9:20

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Pascal Touron / Thibaud Chapelle	FRA	6:32.73	1:34.32 (1)	3:13.99 (1)	4:53.72 (1)	1:39.67 (2)	1:39.73 (2)	1:39.01 (2)	Q
2	–	Juan Zunzunegui / Rubén Álvarez	ESP	6:34.89	1:36.94 (3)	3:16.60 (2)	4:56.70 (2)	1:39.66 (1)	1:40.10 (3)	1:38.19 (1)
3	–	Maarten van der Linden / Pepijn Aardewijn	NED	6:38.62	1:38.75 (4)	3:19.33 (4)	4:58.35 (4)	1:40.58 (4)	1:39.02 (1)	1:40.27 (3)
4	–	Tom Kay / Tom Middleton	GBR	6:41.74	1:36.75 (2)	3:17.10 (3)	4:58.13 (3)	1:40.35 (3)	1:41.03 (4)	1:43.61 (4)
5	–	Lo Sing Yan / Lui Kam Chi	HKG	7:00.75	1:42.88 (5)	3:29.64 (5)	5:15.32 (5)	1:46.76 (5)	1:45.68 (5)	1:45.43 (5)

Heat #4

Time	9:30

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Elia Luini / Leonardo Pettinari	ITA	6:24.73	1:32.57 (1)	3:09.53 (1)	4:45.81 (1)	1:36.96 (2)	1:36.28 (1)	1:38.92 (2)	Q
2	–	Hitoshi Hase / Daisaku Takeda	JPN	6:27.00	1:34.27 (2)	3:10.83 (2)	4:48.13 (2)	1:36.56 (1)	1:37.30 (2)	1:38.87 (1)
3	–	Vasilios Polymeros / Panagiotis Miliotis	GRE	6:29.68	1:34.50 (3)	3:12.10 (3)	4:50.58 (3)	1:37.60 (4)	1:38.48 (3)	1:39.10 (3)
4	–	Rómulo Bouzas / Gerardo Gómez	MEX	6:31.24	1:35.59 (4)	3:13.05 (4)	4:51.62 (4)	1:37.46 (3)	1:38.57 (4)	1:39.62 (4)

Round One Repêchage

Date	20 September 2000
Format	Top two finishers in each heat advanced to semi-finals

Heat #1

Time	9:00

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Hitoshi Hase / Daisaku Takeda	JPN	6:33.81	1:34.12 (2)	3:12.03 (1)	4:52.60 (1)	1:37.91 (1)	1:40.57 (2)	1:41.21 (3)	Q
2	–	Maarten van der Linden / Pepijn Aardewijn	NED	6:36.99	1:36.59 (4)	3:15.99 (3)	4:56.53 (2)	1:39.40 (2)	1:40.54 (1)	1:40.46 (2)	Q
3	–	Josef Källström / Anders Båtemyr	SWE	6:38.77	1:36.39 (3)	3:16.47 (4)	4:58.41 (4)	1:40.08 (3)	1:41.94 (3)	1:40.36 (1)
4	–	Sergey Dmitryaychev / Dmitry Ovechko	RUS	6:44.53	1:33.78 (1)	3:14.23 (2)	4:58.06 (3)	1:40.45 (4)	1:43.83 (4)	1:46.47 (4)

Heat #2

Time	9:10

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Juan Zunzunegui / Rubén Álvarez	ESP	6:39.20	1:36.29 (1)	3:18.19 (2)	4:59.13 (2)	1:41.90 (2)	1:40.94 (1)	1:40.07 (1)	Q
2	–	Steve Tucker / Conal Groom	USA	6:39.72	1:37.45 (2)	3:17.63 (1)	4:58.86 (1)	1:40.18 (1)	1:41.23 (2)	1:40.86 (3)	Q
3	–	Raúl León / Osmani Martín	CUB	6:44.03	1:37.70 (3)	3:20.12 (3)	5:03.27 (3)	1:42.42 (3)	1:43.15 (3)	1:40.76 (2)

Heat #3

Time	9:20

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Ingo Euler / Bernhard Rühling	GER	6:36.26	1:38.50 (2)	3:17.95 (2)	4:57.22 (1)	1:39.45 (1)	1:39.27 (1)	1:39.04 (1)	Q
2	–	Rómulo Bouzas / Gerardo Gómez	MEX	6:38.07	1:37.17 (1)	3:17.00 (1)	4:58.01 (2)	1:39.83 (2)	1:41.01 (3)	1:40.06 (2)	Q
3	–	Ulf Lienhard / Sebastián Massa	ARG	6:41.10	1:38.93 (3)	3:19.41 (3)	4:59.84 (3)	1:40.48 (3)	1:40.43 (2)	1:41.26 (3)
4	–	Lo Sing Yan / Lui Kam Chi	HKG	7:05.05	1:45.45 (4)	3:34.19 (4)	5:21.86 (4)	1:48.74 (4)	1:47.67 (4)	1:43.19 (4)

Heat #4

Time	9:30

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Markus Gier / Michael Gier	SUI	6:35.39	1:35.07 (2)	3:13.97 (2)	4:53.05 (2)	1:38.90 (2)	1:39.08 (1)	1:42.34 (1)	Q
2	–	Vasilios Polymeros / Panagiotis Miliotis	GRE	6:38.78	1:33.34 (1)	3:11.97 (1)	4:52.65 (1)	1:38.63 (1)	1:40.68 (2)	1:46.13 (3)	Q
3	–	Tom Kay / Tom Middleton	GBR	6:43.25	1:36.17 (3)	3:17.09 (3)	4:59.97 (3)	1:40.92 (3)	1:42.88 (3)	1:43.28 (2)
4	–	Zahid Ali Pirzada / Hazrat Islam	PAK	7:13.98	1:38.41 (4)	3:29.35 (4)	5:22.97 (4)	1:50.94 (4)	1:53.62 (4)	1:51.01 (4)

Semi-Finals

Date	22 September 2000
Format	Top three finishers in each heat advanced to final

Heat #1

Time	8:50

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Tomasz Kucharski / Robert Sycz	POL	6:20.60	1:32.95 (1)	3:09.49 (1)	4:45.11 (1)	1:36.54 (1)	1:35.62 (1)	1:35.49 (2)	Q
2	–	Markus Gier / Michael Gier	SUI	6:23.08	1:34.21 (4)	3:11.74 (4)	4:48.83 (4)	1:37.53 (3)	1:37.09 (3)	1:34.25 (1)	Q
3	–	Ingo Euler / Bernhard Rühling	GER	6:24.55	1:33.97 (3)	3:10.89 (2)	4:48.49 (3)	1:36.92 (2)	1:37.60 (4)	1:36.06 (3)	Q
4	–	Haimish Karrasch / Bruce Hick	AUS	6:25.20	1:33.74 (2)	3:11.48 (3)	4:47.93 (2)	1:37.74 (4)	1:36.45 (2)	1:37.27 (4)
5	–	Steve Tucker / Conal Groom	USA	6:32.86	1:35.85 (6)	3:13.71 (5)	4:51.82 (5)	1:37.86 (5)	1:38.11 (5)	1:41.04 (5)
6	–	Maarten van der Linden / Pepijn Aardewijn	NED	6:43.80	1:35.53 (5)	3:15.17 (6)	4:57.58 (6)	1:39.64 (6)	1:42.41 (6)	1:46.22 (6)

Heat #2

Time	9:00

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Pascal Touron / Thibaud Chapelle	FRA	6:21.32	1:33.54 (3)	3:10.05 (3)	4:46.47 (3)	1:36.51 (4)	1:36.42 (1)	1:34.85 (1)	Q
2	–	Elia Luini / Leonardo Pettinari	ITA	6:21.59	1:32.82 (1)	3:08.63 (2)	4:45.81 (2)	1:35.81 (2)	1:37.18 (4)	1:35.78 (2)	Q
3	–	Hitoshi Hase / Daisaku Takeda	JPN	6:23.37	1:34.05 (4)	3:10.36 (4)	4:47.42 (4)	1:36.31 (3)	1:37.06 (2)	1:35.95 (3)	Q
4	–	Vasilios Polymeros / Panagiotis Miliotis	GRE	6:25.38	1:32.99 (2)	3:07.95 (1)	4:45.11 (1)	1:34.96 (1)	1:37.16 (3)	1:40.27 (5)
5	–	Rómulo Bouzas / Gerardo Gómez	MEX	6:33.62	1:36.34 (6)	3:14.52 (5)	4:53.49 (5)	1:38.18 (5)	1:38.97 (5)	1:40.13 (4)
6	–	Juan Zunzunegui / Rubén Álvarez	ESP	6:39.49	1:36.20 (5)	3:14.81 (6)	4:55.82 (6)	1:38.61 (6)	1:41.01 (6)	1:43.67 (6)

Final Round

Date	23 – 24 September 2000

Final A

Time	24 September 2000 — 8:50

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	4	Tomasz Kucharski / Robert Sycz	POL	6:21.75	1:32.94 (1)	3:09.92 (1)	4:46.33 (1)	1:36.98 (1)	1:36.41 (1)	1:35.42 (2)
2	5	Elia Luini / Leonardo Pettinari	ITA	6:23.47	1:33.20 (2)	3:10.19 (2)	4:47.75 (2)	1:36.99 (2)	1:37.56 (2)	1:35.72 (3)
3	3	Pascal Touron / Thibaud Chapelle	FRA	6:24.85	1:33.51 (3)	3:11.07 (3)	4:49.86 (4)	1:37.56 (5)	1:38.79 (4)	1:34.99 (1)
4	1	Ingo Euler / Bernhard Rühling	GER	6:26.54	1:34.05 (4)	3:11.37 (4)	4:49.02 (3)	1:37.32 (3)	1:37.65 (3)	1:37.52 (5)
5	2	Markus Gier / Michael Gier	SUI	6:28.52	1:34.88 (6)	3:12.45 (6)	4:52.03 (6)	1:37.57 (6)	1:39.58 (6)	1:36.49 (4)
6	6	Hitoshi Hase / Daisaku Takeda	JPN	6:29.74	1:34.41 (5)	3:11.80 (5)	4:51.15 (5)	1:37.39 (4)	1:39.35 (5)	1:38.59 (6)

Final B

Time	23 September 2000 — 11:20

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Haimish Karrasch / Bruce Hick	AUS	6:26.21	1:34.71 (1)	3:12.23 (2)	4:49.37 (1)	1:37.52 (2)	1:37.14 (1)	1:36.84 (2)
2	–	Vasilios Polymeros / Panagiotis Miliotis	GRE	6:27.79	1:34.96 (2)	3:12.18 (1)	4:49.59 (2)	1:37.22 (1)	1:37.41 (2)	1:38.20 (4)
3	–	Juan Zunzunegui / Rubén Álvarez	ESP	6:31.49	1:36.67 (3)	3:14.74 (3)	4:54.85 (5)	1:38.07 (5)	1:40.11 (5)	1:36.64 (1)
4	–	Rómulo Bouzas / Gerardo Gómez	MEX	6:31.70	1:37.32 (4)	3:15.18 (4)	4:53.89 (4)	1:37.86 (4)	1:38.71 (4)	1:37.81 (3)
5	–	Steve Tucker / Conal Groom	USA	6:32.41	1:37.88 (6)	3:15.50 (5)	4:53.51 (3)	1:37.62 (3)	1:38.01 (3)	1:38.90 (5)
6	–	Maarten van der Linden / Pepijn Aardewijn	NED	6:40.18	1:37.58 (5)	3:15.88 (6)	4:56.82 (6)	1:38.30 (6)	1:40.94 (6)	1:43.36 (6)

Final C

Time	23 September 2000 — 12:20

Pos	Lane	Pair	NOC	Time	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	500-1,000 m	1,000-1,500 m	1,500-2,000 m
1	–	Ulf Lienhard / Sebastián Massa	ARG	6:29.19	1:34.06 (1)	3:09.95 (1)	4:49.15 (1)	1:35.89 (1)	1:39.20 (1)	1:40.04 (2)
2	–	Tom Kay / Tom Middleton	GBR	6:32.67	1:35.11 (2)	3:13.94 (2)	4:53.45 (2)	1:38.83 (3)	1:39.51 (2)	1:39.22 (1)
3	–	Josef Källström / Anders Båtemyr	SWE	6:34.11	1:35.95 (3)	3:14.03 (3)	4:54.06 (3)	1:38.08 (2)	1:40.03 (3)	1:40.05 (3)
4	–	Lo Sing Yan / Lui Kam Chi	HKG	6:49.19	1:40.39 (5)	3:23.23 (5)	5:06.55 (5)	1:42.84 (5)	1:43.32 (4)	1:42.64 (4)
5	–	Zahid Ali Pirzada / Hazrat Islam	PAK	6:52.12	1:37.47 (4)	3:20.27 (4)	5:07.69 (6)	1:42.80 (4)	1:47.42 (5)	1:44.43 (5)