| Event: | Men's eight |
| Games: | 1936 Summer |
| Venue: | Grünau Regatta Course |
| Dates: | 12–14 August |
| Competitors: | 126 |
| Nations: | 14 |
| Win Value: | 6:25.4 |
| Gold: | |
| Silver: | |
| Bronze: | |
| Next: | 1948 |
The men's eight competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics took place at Grünau Regatta Course in Berlin, Germany. The event was held from 12 to 14 August, and was won by a United States crew from the University of Washington.[1] There were 14 boats (126 competitors) from 14 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The victory was the fifth consecutive gold medal in the event for the United States and seventh overall; the Americans had won every time they competed (missing 1908 and 1912). Italy repeated as silver medalists. Germany earned its first medal in the men's eight since 1912 with its bronze. Canada's three-Games podium streak ended.
Rowing events were dominated by the hosts, Germany, who medaled in every event and took five of the seven gold medals. The final race, men's eights, was won by a working-class United States team from the University of Washington who, in what had become their trademark, started slow and outsprinted the competition to an exceedingly close finish, with only one second separating the top three finishers at the end of a six-and-a-half minute race.[2] [3] This event is chronicled in The Boys in the Boat written by Daniel James Brown, which later became a film of the same name.
This was the ninth appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The men's eight has been held every time that rowing has been contested, beginning in 1900.[4]
The United States was the dominant nation in the event, with the nation winning the previous four Olympic men's eight competitions (as well as the other two competitions which the United States had entered). The American crew this year came from the University of Washington, which had won the 1936 Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta. Switzerland had won the 1936 Grand Challenge Cup. Hungary had won the 1933, 1934, and 1935 European championships.[4] The Australian crew was all police crew from the New South Wales Policeman's Rowing Club in Sydney who had dominated at state titles for the previous two years.[5] They were selected in toto with their attendance funded by the NSW Police Federation.[6]
Yugoslavia made its debut in the event. Canada, Great Britain, and the United States each made their seventh appearance, tied for most among nations to that point.
The "eight" event featured nine-person boats, with eight rowers and a coxswain. It was a sweep rowing event, with the rowers each having one oar (and thus each rowing on one side). The course used the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912.[7]
The 1936 competition had a six-boat final for the first time. The competition continued to use the three-round format used in 1932, with two main rounds (semifinals and a final) and a repechage.
| Date | Time | Round | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, 12 August 1936 | 17:15 | Semifinals | |
| Thursday, 13 August 1936 | 18:15 | Repechage | |
| Friday, 14 August 1936 | 18:00 | Final |
12 August. The first boat in each heat advanced directly to final. The other boats competed again in the repechage for remaining spots in the final.
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:00.8 | |||||
| 2 | 6:02.1 | |||||
| 3 | 6:11.6 | |||||
| 4 | 6:12.3 | |||||
| 5 | 6:28.6 |
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:07.1 | |||||
| 2 | 6:10.1 | |||||
| 3 | 6:14.3 | |||||
| 4 | 6:21.9 | |||||
| 5 | 6:33.2 |
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:08.4 | |||||
| 2 | 6:08.5 | |||||
| 3 | 6:15.5 | |||||
| 4 | 6:18.0 |
13 August. The winner of each race advanced to the final; the other boats were eliminated.
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:44.9 | |||||||
| 2 | 6:55.1 | |||||||
| 3 | 7:07.8 | |||||||
| data-sort-value=4 | — | data-sort-value=9:99.9 |
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:35.6 | |||||
| 2 | 6:42.3 | |||||
| 3 | 6:47.3 | |||||
| 4 | 7:06.1 |
14 August.
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:29.3 | |||||
| 2 | 6:33.8 | |||||
| 3 | 6:36.6 |
| Rank | Rowers | Coxswain | Nation | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:25.4 | |||||
| 6:26.0 | |||||
| 6:26.4 | |||||
| 4 | 6:30.1 | ||||
| 5 | 6:30.3 | ||||
| 6 | 6:35.8 |