Rowing at the 1900 Summer Olympics
# Rowing at the 1900 Summer Olympics

At the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, four events in rowing were contested, marking the introduction of the sport to the Olympic program. At the inaugural 1896 Games, the rowing competition was cancelled due to strong winds. The 1900 regatta was held on the Seine between the Courbevoie Bridge and the Asnières Bridge on 25 and 26 August. The length of the regatta course was 1,750 metres (5,740 ft; 1.09 mi). Two finals were held in the coxed four competition, with both finals being considered Olympic championships. Thus, there were a total of five rowing championships awarded.

## Medal summary

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| - | - | - | - |
| Single sculls details | Hermann Barrelet (FRA) | André Gaudin (FRA) | Saint-George Ashe (GBR) |
| Coxed pair details | Mixed team (ZZX) Minerva AmsterdamFrançois Brandt Roelof Klein Hermanus Brockmann unknown boy (FRA) | France (FRA) Société Nautique de la MarneLucien Martinet René Waleff unknown cox | France (FRA) Rowing Club CastillonCarlos Deltour Antoine Védrenne Raoul Paoli |
| Coxed four Final 1 details | France (FRA) Cercle de l'Aviron Roubaix Henri Bouckaert Jean Cau Émile Delchambre Henri Hazebrouck Charlot | France (FRA) Club Nautique de Lyon Georges Lumpp Charles Perrin Daniel Soubeyran Émile Wegelin unknown cox | Germany (GER) Favorite Hammonia Wilhelm Carstens Julius Körner Adolf Möller Hugo Rüster Gustav Moths Max Ammermann |
| Coxed four Final 2 details | Germany (GER) Germania Ruder Club, Hamburg Gustav Goßler Oscar Goßler Walther Katzenstein Waldemar Tietgens Carl Goßler | Netherlands (NED) Minerva Amsterdam Coenraad Hiebendaal Geert Lotsij Paul Lotsij Johannes Terwogt Hermanus Brockmann | Germany (GER) Ludwigshafener Ruderverein Ernst Felle Otto Fickeisen Carl Lehle Hermann Wilker Franz Kröwerath |
| Eight details | United States (USA) Vesper Boat Club William Carr Harry DeBaecke John Exley John Geiger Edwin Hedley James Juvenal Roscoe Lockwood Edward Marsh Louis Abell | Belgium (BEL) Royal Club Nautique de Gand Jules De Bisschop Prosper Bruggeman Oscar Dessomville Oscar De Cock Maurice Hemelsoet Marcel Van Crombrugge Frank Odberg Maurice Verdonck Alfred Van Landeghem | Netherlands (NED) Minerva Amsterdam François Brandt Johannes van Dijk Roelof Klein Ruurd Leegstra Walter Middelberg Hendrik Offerhaus Walter Thijssen Henricus Tromp Hermanus Brockmann |

## Participating nations

A total of 108 rowers from 8 nations competed at the Paris Games:

* Belgium (11)
* France (47)
* Germany (21)
* Great Britain (1)
* Italy (1)
* Netherlands (13)
* Spain (5)
* United States (9)

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | France (FRA) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Germany (GER) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Mixed team (ZZX) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | United States (USA) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Belgium (BEL) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (7 entries) | Totals (7 entries) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |

## Coxswain mystery

In the coxed pair event, the names of the coxswains for six of the seven crews entered are not known. Most of these were young French boys weighing about 25 kg, which the French crews employed to their advantage. The winning Dutch crew decided, after losing their heat, that their own coxswain was too heavy, and they recruited a French boy to steer the boat for the finals. The lad, name unknown, is believed likely to be the youngest Olympic gold medalist ever (previously estimated as between 7 and 10 years of age). Some estimate the boy was likely 12 to 14 years old. One researcher has made a case that this unknown cox could have been Giorgi Nikoladze (1888-1931) of Georgia, a future scientist and promulgator of Georgian sport.

