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 . 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 Single sculls Coxed pair "Paris 1900 Rowing pair-oared shell with coxswain men Results", IOC Minerva AmsterdamBrockmann was the coxswain for the Dutch team in the semifinal, but not in the final, in which an unknown French boy participated as coxswain. Brockmann is considered a gold medalist by the IOC and is listed in that organization's medal database. The unknown cox may have been 12-year-old Giorgi Nikoladze of modern day Georgia (then part of the Russian Empire), future scientist and founder of Shevardeni Society, according to research by Dr Paata Natsvlishvili, Georgia NOC foundation member; however this research is not convincing (Histoire secrète du sport, François Thomazeau, La Découverte, 2019.). Société Nautique de la MarneLucien Martinet René Waleff unknown cox Rowing Club CastillonCarlos Deltour Antoine Védrenne Raoul PaoliCoxed four Final 1Due to wrangling about who would be allowed to compete in the coxed four final, two finals were held for that competition. Both finals are considered Olympic championships by the International Olympic Committee. Cercle de l'Aviron Roubaix Henri Bouckaert Jean Cau Émile Delchambre Henri Hazebrouck Charlot Club Nautique de Lyon Georges Lumpp Charles Perrin Daniel Soubeyran Émile Wegelin unknown cox Favorite Hammonia Wilhelm Carstens Julius Körner Adolf Möller Hugo Rüster Gustav MothsThe German team changed the coxswain after the semi-final. Gustav Moths participated only in the semi-final and Max Ammermann participated in the final. However, the IOC medal database credits the bronze medal only to Gustav Moths. Max AmmermannCoxed four Final 2 Germania Ruder Club, Hamburg Gustav Goßler Oscar Goßler Walther Katzenstein Waldemar Tietgens Carl Goßler Minerva Amsterdam Coenraad Hiebendaal Geert Lotsij Paul Lotsij Johannes Terwogt Hermanus Brockmann Ludwigshafener Ruderverein Ernst Felle Otto Fickeisen Carl Lehle Hermann Wilker Franz Kröwerath Eight Vesper Boat Club William Carr Harry DeBaecke John Exley John Geiger Edwin Hedley James Juvenal Roscoe Lockwood Edward Marsh Louis Abell 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 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:
Medal table
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.
References
Further reading International Olympic Committee medal winners database De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "Rowing 1900". Accessed 26 February 2006. Available electronically at .