1978 World Rowing Championships
The 1978 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 October to 5 November at Lake Karapiro near Cambridge, New Zealand.[1][2][3] Twenty-eight countries were represented at the regatta. In the history of the World Rowing Championships, 1978 was the only year when the lightweight rowing championships were not held in conjunction with the open men and women event; the lightweight events had already been held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in August.
| 1978 World Rowing Championships | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the 1978 World Rowing Championships | |
| Venue | Lake Karapiro |
| Location | Cambridge, New Zealand |
| Dates | 30 October – 5 November |
| Nations | 28 |
Background
Lake Karapiro was formed in 1947 through a hydroelectric project on the Waikato River. It was soon recognised as the best rowing venue in New Zealand, and was used for the 1950 British Empire Games.[4] World rowing championships had been held since 1962 by FISA, the World Rowing Federation,[4] and in 1974 New Zealand was provisionally awarded the 1978 world event.[5] Don Rowlands, who had won rowing medals at British Empire and Commonwealth Games in the 1950s and would later become chairman of the 1978 World Rowing Championships organising committee, had lobbied for the event to come to New Zealand; prior to 1978, the event had always been held in the Northern Hemisphere. He found a supporter in Thomas Keller, the president of FISA. There was also some curiosity amongst the rowing fraternity how a small island nation from the South Pacific managed to win gold medals at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics, in men's coxed four and men's eight, respectively.[4][5] But it was not until the 1976 Summer Olympics that 1978 event was confirmed, which left only two years to organise the event.[5]
The entire event was organised by volunteers; the organising committee had no people in employment.[5] Cyril Hilliard was the secretary of the organising committee.[6] Volunteer labour erected a grandstand; all built with scaffolding. As Rowlands was a marine engineer, he designed the starting pontoon himself[4] and the construction was carried out by James Hill, a former Olympic rower who was a joiner by trade. Hill also built the start and finish towers.[7] A company donated 13 kit houses, and these were used as offices.[5] Catering for the competitors was done by the New Zealand Army. It is estimated that in total, close to 100,000 spectators attended the four days of racing.[4] Keller called it afterwards "the greatest regatta in living memory".[4] Former British rower Dickie Burnell, who worked at Karapiro as a correspondent for The Times, labelled the event "the greatest show on water".[5]
Twenty-eight countries were represented by their rowers in 140 boats, and this was the largest international sports competition that the country had organised up to that time.[8][9] The event made a profit of NZ$155,000, which was used to fund a rowing foundation.[4]
Medal summary
Medallists at the 1978 World Rowing Championships were:
Men's events
In the single sculls and coxless pair boat classes, the first three boats from each heat qualified for the semi-final, and three further semi-finalists were determined via a repechage. In all other boat classes, the first from each heat qualified for the final, with the other finalists determined via a repechage.[9]
Men's lightweight events
In the history of the World Rowing Championships, 1978 was the only year when the lightweight rowing championships were not held in conjunction with the open men and women event. The 1978 FISA Lightweight Championships were held in Copenhagen, Denmark, during August.[18]
Women's events
There were six boats nominated in the coxless pair and they went to the final without heats. In all other boat classes, the winner of each heat qualified for the final and all other finalists were determined via a repechage.[9]
Event codes
New Zealand officials had expected their men to win three or four medals, and Rowlands stated that he expected the men's eight to win gold. In the end, the bronze won by New Zealand's eight was the host's only medal.[25] This table does not include the lightweight events.[26]
| single sculls | pair (coxless) | coxed pair | double sculls | four (coxless) | coxed four | quad sculls | quad sculls (coxed) | eight (coxed) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's | M1x[10] | M2-[11] | M2+[12] | M2x[13] | M4-[14] | M4+[15] | M4x[16] | M8+[17] | |
| Women's | W1x[19] | W2-[20] | W2x[21] | W4+[22] | W4x+[23] | W8+[24] |
Medal table
The medal table excludes the lightweight events.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  East Germany (GDR) | 8 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 |  Bulgaria (BUL) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 |  West Germany (FRG) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 |  Norway (NOR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada (CAN) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 United States (USA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 10 |  Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 |  Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 New Zealand (NZL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Poland (POL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Romania (ROM) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Yugoslavia (YUG) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (17 nations) | 14 | 14 | 14 | 42 | |
Finals
The Soviet Union were disqualified in the final of the women's coxed four.[27]
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Great Britain
Six men's teams and only one women's team from Great Britain competed at the championships.[28][29]
| Event | Notes | |
| M1x | Tim Crooks | 5th in B final |
|---|---|---|
| M2- | Jim Clark & John Roberts | Silver medal |
| M2+ | N/A | no entry |
| M2x | Chris Baillieu & Michael Hart | Silver medal |
| M4- | Martin Cross, David Townsend, Ian McNuff, John Beattie (London RC) | Bronze medal |
| M4+ | N/A | no entry |
| M4x | Allan Whitwell, Eric Sims, Charles Wiggin, Malcolm Carmichael | 4th in B final |
| M8+ | Lenny Robertson, Allan Whitwell, Henry Clay, Malcolm McGowan, Campbell, Gordon Rankine, Robert Milligan, Colin Seymour, Robert Lee (cox) |
eliminated in repechage |
| W1x | N/A | no entry |
| W2- | N/A | no entry |
| W2x | Pauline Hart & Astrid Ayling | 1st in B final |
| W4+ | N/A | no entry |
| W4x+ | N/A | no entry |
| W8+ | N/A | no entry |
References
- "1978 World Rowing Championships". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- "Rowing in New Zealand". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- "Eine überlange Saison im Rudern endet mit dem fernen WM-Treff" [An extra-long rowing season ends with the far-away World Cup venue]. Berliner Zeitung (in German). 34 (244). 16 October 1978. p. 6. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- "The world comes to Karapiro". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- Kilgallon, Steve (18 July 2010). "World Rowing Champs: story of Kiwi can-do". The Sunday Star-Times. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- Guerin, Andrew; Foster, Margot. "1978 World Championships — Lake Karapiro New Zealand". Rowingmuseum. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- Goile, Aaron (17 May 2020). "Ironic send-off for former Hamilton undertaker Jim Hill". Stuff. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- "1978 World Rowing Championships logo". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- "Im Frauenzweier ohne Vorläufe in das Finale" [In the women's coxless pair into the final without heats]. Neues Deutschland (in German). 33 (256). 30 October 1978. p. 7. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- "(M1x) Men's Single Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(M2-) Men's Pair – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(M2+) Men's Coxed Pair – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(M2x) Men's Double Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(M4-) Men's Four – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(M4+) Men's Coxed Four – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(M4x) Men's Quadruple Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(M8+) Men's Eight – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "1978 World Rowing Lightweight Championships". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- "(W1x) Women's Single Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(W2-) Women's Pair – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(W2x) Women's Double Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(W4+) Women's Coxed Four – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(W4x+) Women's Coxed Quadruple Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "(W8+) Women's Eight – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- "Die Gastgeber der Ruder-WM hoffen nun auf neue Erfolge" [The hosts of the World Rowing Championship are hoping for new successes]. Berliner Zeitung (in German). 34 (258). 1 November 1978. p. 7. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- "Medal Table". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- Burnell, Richard (6 November 1978). "Rowing". The Times. p. 10 – via Times Digital Archive.
- Burnell, Richard (1 November 1978). "Rowing". The Times. p. 10 – via Times Digital Archives.
- "1978 World Rowing Championships". Rowing Story. Retrieved 17 October 2020.