1978 World Rowing Championships

International rowing regatta in New Zealand

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

← 1978 Copenhagen (Lwt)

1979 Bled →

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.

## Background

[edit]

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

[edit]

Medallists at the 1978 World Rowing Championships were:

### Men's events

[edit]

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]

Event:  | Gold:  | Time  | Silver:  | Time  | Bronze:  | Time

|
|
|
|
|
|

M1x[10] |  West Germany
Peter-Michael Kolbe | 7:06.01  |  East Germany
Rüdiger Reiche | 7:08.35  |  Yugoslavia
Milorad Stanulov | 7:09.82
M2-[11] |  East Germany
Bernd Landvoigt (b)
Jörg Landvoigt (s)  | 7:00.92  |  Great Britain
John Roberts (b)
Jim Clark (s)  | 7:03.68  |  France
Dominique Lecointe (b)
Jean-Claude Roussel (s)  | 7:06.32
M2+[12] |  East Germany
Jürgen Pfeiffer (b)
Gert Uebeler (s)
Olaf Beyer (cox) | 7:27.43  |  Czechoslovakia
Karel Mejta Jr (b)
Karel Neffe (s)
Jiří Pták (cox) | 7:30.49  |  Poland
Adam Tomasiak (b)
Grzegorz Nowak (s)
Ryszard Kubiak (cox) | 7:33.73
M2x[13] |  Norway
Frank Hansen (b)
Alf Hansen (s)  | 6:51.23  |  Great Britain
Chris Baillieu (b)
Michael Hart (s)  | 6:53.67  |  Switzerland
Bruno Saile (b)
Jürg Weitnauer (s)  | 6:58.43
M4-[14] |  Soviet Union
Vladimir Predbradzensky (b)
Nikolay Kuznetsov (2)
Valeriy Dolinin (3)
Anatoly Nemtyryov (s)  | 6:19.25  |  East Germany
Siegfried Brietzke (b)
Andreas Decker (2)
Stefan Semmler (3)
Wolfgang Mager (s)  | 6:19.52  |  Great Britain
John Beattie (b)
Ian McNuff (2)
David Townsend (3)
Martin Cross (s)  | 6:26.28
M4+[15] |  East Germany
Ullrich Dießner (b)
Gottfried Döhn (2)
Walter Dießner (3)
Dieter Wendisch (s)
Andreas Gregor (cox)  | 6:30.25  |  West Germany
Wolf-Dieter Oschlies (b)
Wolfram Thiem (2)
Frank Schütze (3)
Gabriel Konertz (s)
Helmut Sassenbach (cox)  | 6:31.56  |  Bulgaria
Rumen Khristov (b)
Tsvetan Petkov (2)
Nasko Markov (3)
Ivan Botev (s)
Nenko Dobrev (cox)  | 6:37.06
M4x[16] |  East Germany
Joachim Dreifke (b)
Karl-Heinz Bußert (2)
Martin Winter (3)
Frank Dundr (s)  | 6:08.94  |  France
Christian Marquis (b)
Jean-Raymond Peltier (2)
Roland Thibaut (3)
Roland Weill (s)  | 6:11.05  |  West Germany
Dieter Wiedenmann (b)
Albert Hedderich (2)
Raimund Hörmann (3)
Michael Dürsch (s)  | 6:11.88
M8+[17] |  East Germany
Matthias Schumann (b)
Ulrich Karnatz (2)
Gerd Sredzki (3)
Andreas Ebert (4)
Friedrich-Wilhelm Ulrich (5)
Harald Jährling (6)
Uwe Dühring (7)
Bernd Höing (s)
Bernd Kaiser (cox)  | 5:54.25  |  West Germany
Volker Sauer (b)
Klaus Roloff (2)
Fritz Schuster (3)
Heribert Karches (4)
Werner Hellwig (5)
Winfried Ringwald (6)
Thomas Scholl (7)
Diethelm Maxrath (s)
Hartmut Wenzel (cox)  | 5:55.17  |  New Zealand
Mark James (b)
Greg Johnston (2)
Dave Rodger (3)
Des Lock (4)
Ross Lindstrom (5)
David Lindstrom (6)
Ivan Sutherland (7)
Noel Mills (s)
Alan Cotter (cox)  | 5:57.16

### Men's lightweight events

[edit]

Main article: 1978 FISA Lightweight Championships

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

[edit]

Final in the women's four, with East Germany winning

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:  | Gold:  | Time  | Silver:  | Time  | Bronze:  | Time

|
|
|
|
|
|

W1x[19] |  East Germany
Christine Scheiblich | 4:12.49  |  Soviet Union
Anna Kondrachina | 4:14.43  |  Hungary
Mariann Ambrus | 4:16.21
W2-[20] |  East Germany
Cornelia Klier (b)
Ute Steindorf (s)  | 4:02.65  |  Canada
Elizabeth Craig (b)
Susan Antoft (s)  | 4:02.87  |  Netherlands
Joke Dierdorp (b)
Karin Abma (s)  | 4:05.38
W2x[21] |  Bulgaria
Svetla Otsetova (b)
Zdravka Yordanova (s)  | 4:01.94  |  Soviet Union
Ludmila Parphjoonova (b)
Eleonora Kaminskaitė (s)  | 4:04.19  |  United States
Elizabeth Hills-O'Leary (b)
Lisa Hansen Stone (s)  | 4:04.77
W4+[22] |  East Germany
Kersten Neisser (b)
Angelika Noack (2)
Ute Skorupski (3)
Marita Sandig (s)
Kirsten Wenzel (cox)  | 3:48.47  |  United States
Carol Brown (b)
Anita DeFrantz (2)
Cozema Crawford (3)
Nancy Storrs (s)
Hollis Hatton (cox)  | 3:52.42  |  Romania
Elena Oprea (b)
Florica Dospinescu (2)
Florica Silaghi (3)
Georgeta Militaru-Mașca (s)
Aneta Matei (cox)  | 3:53.92
W4x+[23] |  Bulgaria
Anka Bakova (b)
Dolores Nakova (2)
Rositsa Spasova (3)
Rumelyana Boncheva (s)
Anka Georgieva (cox)  | 3:31.16  |  West Germany
Sabine Reuter (b)
Petra Finke (2)
Veronika Walterfang (3)
Anne Dickmann (s)
Kathrien Plückhahn (cox)  | 3:32.58  |  Soviet Union
Reet Palm (b)
Yelena Khloptseva (2)
Olga Vasilchenko (3)
Nadesjda Kozotshkina (s)
Nadezhda Chernyshyova (cox)  | 3:33.30
W8+[24] |  Soviet Union
Valentina Zhulina (b)
Maria Paziun (2)
Nina Antoniuk (3)
Tatyana Bunjak (4)
Nadezhda Dergatchenko (5)
Nina Umanets (6)
Elena Tereshina (7)
Olga Pivovarova (s)
Nina Frolova (cox)  | 3:22.00  |  East Germany
Silvia Arndt (b)
Renate Neu (2)
Dagmar Bauer (3)
Gabriele Kühn (4)
Petra Köhler (5)
Henrietta Ebert (6)
Birgit Schütz (7)
Christiane Köpke (s)
Marina Wilke (cox)  | 3:26.12  |  Canada
Joy Fera (b)
Christine Neuland (2)
Gail Cort (3)
Monica Draeger (4)
Elizabeth Jacklin (5)
Kimberley Gordon (6)
Dolores Young (7)
Tricia Smith (s)
Trudy Flynn (cox)  | 3:28.34

### Event codes

[edit]

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

[edit]

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|  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
Yugoslavia (YUG)| 0| 0| 1| 1
Totals (17 entries)| 14| 14| 14| 42

## Finals

[edit]

The Soviet Union were disqualified in the final of the women's coxed four.[27]

Event  | 1st  | 2nd  | 3rd  | 4th  | 5th  | 6th

|
|
|
|
|
|

M1x  |  West Germany |  East Germany |  Yugoslavia |  Soviet Union |  Argentina |  Finland
M2-  |  East Germany |  Great Britain |  France |  Netherlands |  Ireland |  United States
M2+  |  East Germany |  Czechoslovakia |  Poland |  West Germany |  Bulgaria |  Ireland
M2x  |  Norway |  Great Britain |  Switzerland |  East Germany |  United States |  New Zealand
M4-  |  Soviet Union |  East Germany |  Great Britain |  France |  Czechoslovakia |  West Germany
M4+  |  East Germany |  West Germany |  Bulgaria |  United States |  Australia |  New Zealand
M4x  |  East Germany |  France |  West Germany |  Czechoslovakia |  Bulgaria |  Spain
M8+  |  East Germany |  West Germany |  New Zealand |  Australia |  France |  Bulgaria
W1x  |  East Germany |  Soviet Union |  Hungary |  Bulgaria |  United States |  Romania
W2-  |  East Germany |  Canada |  Netherlands |  Bulgaria |  Romania |  New Zealand
W2x  |  Bulgaria |  Soviet Union |  United States |  Norway |  Romania |  East Germany
W4+  |  East Germany |  United States |  Romania |  Bulgaria |  Canada |  Soviet Union (disqualified)
W4x+  |  Bulgaria |  West Germany |  Soviet Union |  East Germany |  Netherlands |  Romania
W8+  |  Soviet Union |  East Germany |  Canada |  United States |  West Germany |  Bulgaria

## Great Britain

[edit]

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

[edit]

1. ^ "1978 World Rowing Championships". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
2. ^ "Rowing in New Zealand". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
3. ^ "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). Vol. 34, no. 244\. 16 October 1978. p. 6\. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
4. ^ a b c d e f g "The world comes to Karapiro". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
5. ^ a b c d e f Kilgallon, Steve (18 July 2010). "World Rowing Champs: story of Kiwi can-do". The Sunday Star-Times. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
6. ^ Guerin, Andrew; Foster, Margot. "1978 World Championships — Lake Karapiro New Zealand". Rowingmuseum. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
7. ^ Goile, Aaron (17 May 2020). "Ironic send-off for former Hamilton undertaker Jim Hill". Stuff. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
8. ^ "1978 World Rowing Championships logo". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
9. ^ a b c "Im Frauenzweier ohne Vorläufe in das Finale" [In the women's coxless pair into the final without heats]. Neues Deutschland (in German). Vol. 33, no. 256\. 30 October 1978. p. 7\. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
10. ^ a b "(M1x) Men's Single Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
11. ^ a b "(M2-) Men's Pair – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
12. ^ a b "(M2+) Men's Coxed Pair – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
13. ^ a b "(M2x) Men's Double Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
14. ^ a b "(M4-) Men's Four – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
15. ^ a b "(M4+) Men's Coxed Four – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
16. ^ a b "(M4x) Men's Quadruple Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
17. ^ a b "(M8+) Men's Eight – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
18. ^ "1978 World Rowing Lightweight Championships". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
19. ^ a b "(W1x) Women's Single Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
20. ^ a b "(W2-) Women's Pair – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
21. ^ a b "(W2x) Women's Double Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
22. ^ a b "(W4+) Women's Coxed Four – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
23. ^ a b "(W4x+) Women's Coxed Quadruple Sculls – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
24. ^ a b "(W8+) Women's Eight – Final". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
25. ^ "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). Vol. 34, no. 258\. 1 November 1978. p. 7\. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
26. ^ "Medal Table". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
27. ^ Burnell, Richard (6 November 1978). "Rowing". The Times. p. 10 – via Times Digital Archive.
28. ^ Burnell, Richard (1 November 1978). "Rowing". The Times. p. 10 – via Times Digital Archives.
29. ^ "1978 World Rowing Championships". Rowing Story. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2020.

## External links

[edit]

* Photo of the starting tower and pontoon, taken by The New Zealand Herald

* v
* t
* e

World Rowing Championships

Editions|

* Lucerne 1962
* Bled 1966
* St. Catharines 1970
* Lucerne 1974
* Nottingham 1975
* Villach 1976
* Amsterdam 1977
* Copenhagen 1978 (lightweight)
* Cambridge 1978
* Bled 1979
* Heindonk 1980
* Oberschleißheim 1981
* Lucerne 1982
* Duisburg 1983
* Montreal 1984
* Heindonk 1985
* Nottingham 1986
* Copenhagen 1987
* Milan 1988
* Bled 1989
* Tasmania 1990
* Vienna 1991
* Montreal 1992
* Račice 1993
* Indianapolis 1994
* Tampere 1995
* Motherwell 1996
* Aiguebelette-le-Lac 1997
* Cologne 1998
* St. Catharines 1999
* Zagreb 2000
* Lucerne 2001
* Seville 2002
* Milan 2003
* Banyoles 2004
* Kaizu 2005
* Dorney 2006
* Oberschleißheim 2007
* Ottensheim 2008
* Poznań 2009
* Cambridge 2010
* Bled 2011
* Plovdiv 2012
* Chungju 2013
* Amsterdam 2014
* Aiguebelette-le-Lac 2015
* Rotterdam 2016
* Sarasota 2017
* Plovdiv 2018
* Ottensheim 2019
* ~~Bled 2020~~
* ~~Shanghai 2021~~
* Račice 2022
* Belgrade 2023
* St. Catharines 2024
* Shanghai 2025
* Amsterdam 2026
* Lucerne 2027

Venues|

* Rotsee (1962)
* Lake Bled (1966)
* Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course (1970)
* Rotsee (1974)
* Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre (1975)
* Lake Ossiach (1976)
* Bosbaan (1977)
* Lake Bagsværd (1978 lightweight)
* Lake Karapiro (1978)
* Lake Bled (1979)
* Hazewinkel (1980)
* Oberschleißheim Regatta Course (1981)
* Rotsee (1982)
* Wedau (1983)
* Notre Dame Island (1984)
* Hazewinkel (1985)
* Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre (1986)
* Lake Bagsværd (1987)
* Idroscalo (1988)
* Lake Bled (1989)
* Lake Barrington (1990)
* New Danube (1991)
* Notre Dame Island (1992)
* Račice (1993)
* Eagle Creek Park (1994)
* Kaukajärvi (1995)
* Strathclyde Country Park (1996)
* Lac d'Aiguebelette (1997)
* Fühlinger See (1998)
* Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course (1999)
* Jarun (2000)
* Rotsee (2001)
* Guadalquivir (2002)
* Idroscalo (2003)
* Lake of Banyoles (2004)
* Nagaragawa International Regatta Course (2005)
* Dorney Lake (2006)
* Oberschleißheim Regatta Course (2007)
* Ottensheim (2008)
* Lake Malta (2009)
* Lake Karapiro (2010)
* Lake Bled (2011)
* Plovdiv (2012)
* Tangeum Lake (2013)
* Bosbaan (2014)
* Lac d'Aiguebelette (2015)
* Willem-Alexander Baan (2016)
* Nathan Benderson Park (2017)
* Plovdiv (2018)
* Ottensheim (2019)
* ~~Lake Bled (2020)~~
* ~~Dianshan Lake (2021)~~
* Račice (2022)
* Lake Sava (2023)
* Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course (2024)
* Dianshan Lake (2025)
* Bosbaan (2026)
* Rotsee (2027)

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