Rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's Coxless Pair
Encyclopedia
Men's coxless pair competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
This rowing event was a sweep event, meaning that each rower has one oar and rows on only one side. Two rowers crewed each boat, with no coxswain. The competition consists of multiple rounds. Finals were held to determine the placing of each boat; these finals were given letters with those nearer to the beginning of the alphabet meaning a better ranking. Semifinals were named based on which finals they fed, with each semifinal having two possible finals.
Semifinal B was a close, dramatic race. 100 meters from the finishing line, there were four boats in contention for the 3 available places in the finals. Germany held a small lead followed by Canada, South Africa and Serbia and Montenegro. Canada suddenly veered off course, interfering with South Africa and allowing Serbia to pass it. South Africa protested, and Canada was excluded from the results. Canada requested that they would be allowed into the finals as the seventh boat, but their request was denied. Canada then chose not to participate in the B Finals.
In the finals, Australia's Drew Ginn and James Tomkins established an early lead over the field which they stretched to 2 seconds at the 1000 metre mark (halfway), with Croatia in second and Serbia in third. Over the last 1000 meters, Australia maintained its margin over the rest of the field, Croatia continueed to run second and South Africa rowed through to finish third. For Tomkins, it was his third gold medal and fourth overall, and for Ginn it was his second gold.
This rowing event was a sweep event, meaning that each rower has one oar and rows on only one side. Two rowers crewed each boat, with no coxswain. The competition consists of multiple rounds. Finals were held to determine the placing of each boat; these finals were given letters with those nearer to the beginning of the alphabet meaning a better ranking. Semifinals were named based on which finals they fed, with each semifinal having two possible finals.
| Gold: | Silver: | Bronze: |
 Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... Drew Ginn Drew Ginn Drew Cameron Ginn, OAM, is an Australian rower and triple Olympic gold medallist.... James Tomkins |
 Croatia Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ... Siniša Skelin Siniša Skelin Siniša Skelin is a Croatian rower who has won two Olympic medals. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens he won a silver medal in coxless pairs with his younger brother Nikša.-External links:*... Nikša Skelin Nikša Skelin Nikša Skelin is a Croatian rower who has won two Olympic medals. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens he won a silver medal in coxless pairs with his older brother Siniša.-External links:*... |
 South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... Donovan Cech Donovan Cech Donovan Cech is a South African rower. He competes in the Coxless Pairs division and his boat partner for the past few years has been Ramon di Clemente. The pair won a Bronze medal won in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.... Ramon di Clemente Ramon di Clemente Ramon di Clemente is an South African rower and Olympic medalist.He competes in the coxless pair event with his boat partner of the past few years, Donovan Cech. They won the bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.... |
Heat 1 (August 14)
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- Drew GinnDrew GinnDrew Cameron Ginn, OAM, is an Australian rower and triple Olympic gold medallist....
, James Tomkins, 6:55.04 -> SF - Nikola StojićNikola Stojic1998-20032003-20062007-presentNikola Stojić is a rower from Serbia, who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000. He won the silver medal in the Men's Single Sculls event at the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain.In 2006 Olympic Committee of Serbia has declared for...
, Mladen Stegic, 6:58.11 -> SF - Toby GarbettToby GarbettToby Garbett is a British rower.- External links :* at sports-reference.com...
, Rick Dunn, 6:58.95 -> SF - Walter Naneder, Marcos Morales, 7:02.29 -> R
- Matija Pavšič, Andrej Hrabar, 7:05.36 -> R
- Drew Ginn
Heat 2 (August 14)
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- Donovan CechDonovan CechDonovan Cech is a South African rower. He competes in the Coxless Pairs division and his boat partner for the past few years has been Ramon di Clemente. The pair won a Bronze medal won in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens....
, Ramon di ClementeRamon di ClementeRamon di Clemente is an South African rower and Olympic medalist.He competes in the coxless pair event with his boat partner of the past few years, Donovan Cech. They won the bronze medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens....
, 6:57.06 -> SF - Siniša SkelinSiniša SkelinSiniša Skelin is a Croatian rower who has won two Olympic medals. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens he won a silver medal in coxless pairs with his younger brother Nikša.-External links:*...
, Nikša SkelinNikša SkelinNikša Skelin is a Croatian rower who has won two Olympic medals. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens he won a silver medal in coxless pairs with his older brother Siniša.-External links:*...
, 7:01.28 -> SF - Luke WaltonLuke WaltonLuke Theodore Walton is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . His primary position is at small forward. After the 2010 NBA Finals, Walton and his father Hall of Famer Bill Walton became the first and only father and son to...
, Artour Samsonov, 7:11.81 -> SF - Adam Michalek, Petr Imre, 7:26.19 -> R
- Donovan Cech
Heat 3 (August 14)
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- Nathan TwaddleNathan TwaddleNathan Twaddle, MNZM is a rower from New Zealand and Olympic medallist. He competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, in the coxless pair rowing with his partner George Bridgewater and came out with a bronze medal....
, George BridgewaterGeorge BridgewaterGeorge Bridgewater, MNZM, is a New Zealand rower who currently competes in the pair at international level with Nathan Twaddle. The pair won bronze medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing...
, 6:54.75 -> SF - Dave CalderDavid Calder (rower)David Calder or Dave Calder is a Canadian rower. He was born in Victoria, British Columbia. He graduated from Brentwood College School in 1996....
, Chris JarvisChris Jarvis (rower)Chris Jarvis is a Canadian rower. He was born in Grimsby, Ontario and competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens Greece.Jarvis was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus type 1 at age 13. He wears a Meditronic insulin pump while competing, in order to mitigate the effects of his condition...
, 6:56.23 -> SF - Giuseppe de Vita, Dario LariDario LariDario Lari is a rower from Italy. He competed for his native counry at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.-References:*...
, 7:03.12 -> SF - Tobias Kuehne, Jan HerzogJan HerzogJan Herzog is a German rower.- External links :* at sports-reference.com...
, 7:14.16 -> R
- Nathan Twaddle
Repechage 1 (August 17)
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- Tobias Kuehne, Jan HerzogJan HerzogJan Herzog is a German rower.- External links :* at sports-reference.com...
, 6:28.40 -> SF - Walter Naneder, Marcos Morales, 6:28.98 -> SF
- Matija Pavšič, Andrej Hrabar, 6:30.89 -> SF
- Adam Michalek, Petr Imre, 6:33.24
- Tobias Kuehne, Jan Herzog
Semifinals
- FA denotes qualification to Final A.
- FB denotes qualification to Final B.
Semifinal A (August 18)
- Australia (Drew Ginn, James Tomkins) 6:22.60 FA
- Croatia (Siniša Skelin, Nikša Skelin) 6:23.57 FA
- New Zealand (Nathan Twaddle, George Bridgewater) 6:24.49 FA
- Great Britain (Toby Garbett, Rick Dunn) 6:25.06 FB
- Italy (Giuseppe de Vita, Dario Lari) 6:31.26 FB
- Argentina (Walter Naneder, Marcos Morales) 7:19.57 FB
Semifinal B (August 18)
- Germany (Tobias Kuehne, Jan Herzog) 6:25.47 FA
- Serbia and Montenegro (Nikola Stojić, Mladen Stegic) 6:27.50 FA
- South Africa (Donovan Cech, Ramon di Clemente) 6:28.48 FA
- United States (Luke Walton, Artour Samsonov) 6:32.51 FB
- Slovenia (Matija Pavšič, Andrej Hrabar) 6:46.12 FB
- Canada (Dave Calder, Chris Jarvis) Excluded FB
Semifinal B was a close, dramatic race. 100 meters from the finishing line, there were four boats in contention for the 3 available places in the finals. Germany held a small lead followed by Canada, South Africa and Serbia and Montenegro. Canada suddenly veered off course, interfering with South Africa and allowing Serbia to pass it. South Africa protested, and Canada was excluded from the results. Canada requested that they would be allowed into the finals as the seventh boat, but their request was denied. Canada then chose not to participate in the B Finals.
Final A (August 21)
- Australia (Drew Ginn, James Tomkins) 6:30.76
- Croatia (Siniša Skelin, Nikša Skelin) 6:32.64
- South Africa (Donovan Cech, Ramon di Clemente) 6:33.40
- New Zealand (Nathan Twaddle, George Bridgewater) 6:34.24
- Serbia and Montenegro (Nikola Stojić, Mladen Stegic) 6:39.74
- Germany (Tobias Kuehne, Jan Herzog) 6:46.50
In the finals, Australia's Drew Ginn and James Tomkins established an early lead over the field which they stretched to 2 seconds at the 1000 metre mark (halfway), with Croatia in second and Serbia in third. Over the last 1000 meters, Australia maintained its margin over the rest of the field, Croatia continueed to run second and South Africa rowed through to finish third. For Tomkins, it was his third gold medal and fourth overall, and for Ginn it was his second gold.
Final B (August 19)
- Great Britain (Toby Garbett, Rick Dunn) 6:22.04
- Italy (Giuseppe de Vita, Dario Lari) 6:22.08
- Slovenia (Matija Pavšič, Andrej Hrabar) 6:27.11
- Argentina (Walter Naneder, Marcos Morales) 6:27.88
- United States (Luke Walton, Artour Samsonov) 6:30.49
- Canada (Dave Calder, Chris Jarvis) DNS