# Rowing at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's single sculls

The men's single sculls competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was held from 6 to 13 August at the Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas. There were 32 competitors from 32 nations. The event was won by Mahé Drysdale of New Zealand, the sixth man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the event. He won an exceptionally close final against Damir Martin of Croatia. Martin's silver was Croatia's first medal in the event. Bronze went to Ondřej Synek of the Czech Republic. Both Drysdale and Synek earned their third medal in the event; Drysdale had taken bronze in 2008 before winning in 2012 and 2016, while Synek had twice been the runner-up in 2008 and 2012 before this third-place finish.
The measurer noted Martin as the winner with photo finish, while Drysdale as second, but then the result was removed. They had the same final time, 6 minutes 41.34 seconds, and the winner, Drysdale, was decided with a photo finish (five thousandths of a second) by judges. The Croatian Olympic Committee disputes the photo finish, and officially requested the International Olympic Committee and International Rowing Federation for an analysis by independent experts of the entire video and photo finish.

## Background

This was the 27th appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The single sculls has been held every time that rowing has been contested, beginning in 1900.
Four of the 12 A/B semifinalists from the 2012 Games returned, including the three medallists: gold medallist (and 2008 bronze medallist) Mahé Drysdale of New Zealand, two-time silver medallist Ondřej Synek of the Czech Republic, bronze medallist (and 2008 fifth-place finisher) Alan Campbell of Great Britain, and seventh-place finisher Ángel Fournier of Cuba. The favourites were Synek and Damir Martin of Croatia; Synek had won the three World Championships since the 2012 Games while Martin had won the last two European championships. Drysdale had been World runner-up in 2014 and 2015 as well as adding two more Diamond Challenge Sculls titles.
Belarus, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Thailand, and Vanuatu each made their debut in the event. Great Britain made its 22nd appearance, most among nations.

## Qualification

Nations had been limited to one boat (one rower) each since 1912. The 32 qualifiers were:
* 9 boats from the 2015 World Championships
* 7 boats from the Asian and Oceanian Qualification Regatta
* 4 boats from the African Qualification Regatta
* 7 boats from the Latin American Qualification Regatta
* 3 boats from the European Qualification Regatta
* 2 invitational boats

## Competition format

This rowing event is a single scull event, meaning that each boat is propelled by a single rower. The "scull" portion means that the rower uses two oars, one on each side of the boat; this contrasts with sweep rowing in which each rower has one oar and rows on only one side (not feasible for singles events). The competition consists of multiple rounds. The competition continued to use the five-round format introduced in 2012. 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. The course used the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912.
During the first round six heats were held. The first three boats in each heat advanced to the quarterfinals, while all others were relegated to the repechages.
The repechage was a round which offered rowers a second chance to qualify for the quarterfinals. Placing in the repechage heats determined which quarterfinal the boat would race in. The top two boats in each repechage heat moved on to the quarterfinals, with the remaining boats going to the E/F semifinals.
The quarterfinals were the second round for rowers still competing for medals. Placing in the quarterfinal heats determined which semifinal the boat would race in. The top three boats in each quarterfinal moved on to the A/B semifinals, with the bottom three boats going to the C/D semifinals.
Six semifinals were held, two each of A/B semifinals, C/D semifinals, and E/F semifinals. For each semifinal race, the top three boats moved on to the better of the two finals, while the bottom three boats went to the lesser of the two finals possible. For example, a second-place finish in an A/B semifinal would result in advancement to the A final.
The fourth and final round was the finals. Each final determined a set of rankings. The A final determined the medals, along with the rest of the places through 6th. The B final gave rankings from 7th to 12th, the C from 13th to 18th, and so on. Thus, to win a medal rowers had to finish in the top three of their heat (or top two of their repechage heat), top three of their quarterfinal, and top three of their A/B semifinal to reach the A final.

## Schedule

All times are Brasília Time (UTC−3).
| Date | Time | Round |
| Saturday, 6 August 2016 | 7:30 | Heats |
| Sunday, 7 August 2016 | 7:30 | Repechages |
| Monday, 8 August 2016 | 7:30 | Semifinals E/F |
| Tuesday, 9 August 2016 | 7:30 | Quarterfinals |
| Wednesday, 10 August 2016 | 10:10 | Semifinals C/D |
| Thursday, 11 August 2016 | 8:10 | Semifinals A/B |
| Friday, 12 August 2016 | 7:30 7:50 | Final F Final E |
| Saturday, 13 August 2016 | 8:30 8:50 9:10 09:30 | Final D Final C Final B Final A |

## Results
### Heats

The first three of each heat qualified for the quarterfinals, while the remainder went to the repechage.

#### Heat 1

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Ángel Fournier | Cuba | 7:06.89 | Q |
| 2 | Juan Carlos Cabrera | Mexico | 7:08.27 | Q |
| 3 | Dattu Baban Bhokanal | India | 7:21.67 | Q |
| 4 | Jaruwat Saensuk | Thailand | 7:25.06 | R |
| 5 | Armandas Kelmelis | Lithuania | 7:34.59 | R |
| 6 | Luigi Teilemb | Vanuatu | 8:00.42 | R |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Mahé Drysdale | New Zealand | 7:04.45 | Q |
| 2 | Bendegúz Pétervári-Molnár | Hungary | 7:12.86 | Q |
| 3 | Jhonatan Esquivel | Uruguay | 7:16.08 | Q |
| 4 | Renzo Leon Garcia | Peru | 7:21.04 | R |
| 5 | Mohammed Riyadh | Iraq | 7:25.04 | R |
| 6 | Jakson Vicent Monasterio | Venezuela | 7:28.36 | R |

#### Heat 3

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Hannes Obreno | Belgium | 7:09.06 | Q |
| 2 | Natan Węgrzycki-Szymczyk | Poland | 7:12.43 | Q |
| 3 | Brian Rosso | Argentina | 7:22.69 | Q |
| 4 | Shakhboz Kholmirzayev | Uzbekistan | 7:25.03 | R |
| 5 | Al-Hussein Gambour | Libya | 7:43.85 | R |

#### Heat 4

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Alan Campbell | Great Britain | 7:08.31 | Q |
| 2 | Stanislau Shcharbachenia | Belarus | 7:11.49 | Q |
| 3 | Memo | Indonesia | 7:14.17 | Q |
| 4 | Kim Dong-yong | South Korea | 7:20.85 | R |
| 5 | Andrew Peebles | Zimbabwe | 7:25.39 | R |

#### Heat 5

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Ondřej Synek | Czech Republic | 7:21.90 | Q |
| 2 | Rhys Grant | Australia | 7:28.83 | Q |
| 3 | Arturo Rivarola | Paraguay | 7:29.23 | Q |
| 4 | Sid Ali Boudina | Algeria | 7:45.90 | R |
| 5 | Bryan Sola Zambrano | Ecuador | 7:48.77 | R |

#### Heat 6

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Nils Jakob Hoff | Norway | 7:17.47 | Q |
| 2 | Damir Martin | Croatia | 7:23.08 | Q |
| 3 | Abdelkhalek El-Banna | Egypt | 7:34.05 | Q |
| 4 | Mohamed Taieb | Tunisia | 7:37.95 | R |
| 5 | Vladislav Yakovlev | Kazakhstan | 7:38.65 | R |

### Repechage

The first two in each heat qualified for the quarterfinals; the rest went to Semifinals E/F (out of medal contention).

#### Repechage heat 1

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Sid Ali Boudina | Algeria | 7:20.84 | Q |
| 2 | Renzo Leon Garcia | Peru | 7:25.55 | Q |
| 3 | Luigi Teilemb | Vanuatu | 7:34.12 | QEF |
| 4 | Al-Hussein Gambour | Libya | 7:45.09 | QEF |
| 5 | Vladislav Yakovlev | Kazakhstan | 12:04.17 | QEF |

#### Repechage heat 2

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Kim Dong-yong | South Korea | 7:12.96 | Q |
| 2 | Mohammed Riyadh | Iraq | 7:14.38 | Q |
| 3 | Jaruwat Saensuk | Thailand | 7:16.39 | QEF |
| 4 | Bryan Sola Zambrano | Ecuador | 7:28.30 | QEF |

#### Repechage heat 3

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Armandas Kelmelis | Lithuania | 7:13.36 | Q |
| 2 | Shakhboz Kholmirzayev | Uzbekistan | 7:14.58 | Q |
| 3 | Andrew Peebles | Zimbabwe | 7:17.19 | QEF |
| 4 | Mohamed Taieb | Tunisia | 7:27.18 | QEF |
| 5 | Jakson Vicent Monasterio | Venezuela | 7:28.67 | QEF |

### Quarterfinals

The first three of each heat qualified for Semifinals A/B; the remainder went to Semifinals C/D (out of medal contention).

#### Quarterfinal 1

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Ángel Fournier | Cuba | 6:51.89 | QAB |
| 2 | Rhys Grant | Australia | 6:55.14 | QAB |
| 3 | Nils Jakob Hoff | Norway | 6:57.94 | QAB |
| 4 | Memo | Indonesia | 6:59.76 | QCD |
| 5 | Kim Dong-yong | South Korea | 7:05.69 | QCD |
| 6 | Shakhboz Kholmirzayev | Uzbekistan | 7:09.99 | QCD |

#### Quarterfinal 2

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Mahé Drysdale | New Zealand | 6:46.51 | QAB |
| 2 | Ondřej Synek | Czech Republic | 6:50.51 | QAB |
| 3 | Stanislau Shcharbachenia | Belarus | 6:55.19 | QAB |
| 4 | Brian Rosso | Argentina | 7:03.23 | QCD |
| 5 | Armandas Kelmelis | Lithuania | 7:04.67 | QCD |
| 6 | Renzo Leon Garcia | Peru | 7:30.91 | QCD |

#### Quarterfinal 3

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Hannes Obreno | Belgium | 6:48.90 | QAB |
| 2 | Juan Carlos Cabrera | Mexico | 6:50.04 | QAB |
| 3 | Abdelkhalek El-Banna | Egypt | 6:50.82 | QAB |
| 4 | Bendegúz Pétervári-Molnár | Hungary | 6:52.80 | QCD |
| 5 | Sid Ali Boudina | Algeria | 7:13.59 | QCD |
| 6 | Arturo Rivarola | Paraguay | 7:17.12 | QCD |

#### Quarterfinal 4

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Damir Martin | Croatia | 6:44.44 | QAB |
| 2 | Alan Campbell | Great Britain | 6:49.41 | QAB |
| 3 | Natan Węgrzycki-Szymczyk | Poland | 6:53.52 | QAB |
| 4 | Dattu Baban Bhokanal | India | 6:59.89 | QCD |
| 5 | Jhonatan Esquivel | Uruguay | 7:40.27 | QCD |
| 6 | Mohammed Riyadh | Iraq | 8:29.76 | QCD |

### Semifinals

The first three of each heat qualify to the better final (E, C, A) while the remainder went to the lower final (F, D, B).

#### Semifinal E/F 1

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Jaruwat Saensuk | Thailand | 7:54.38 | QE |
| 2 | Mohamed Taieb | Tunisia | 8:02.05 | QE |
| 3 | Luigi Teilemb | Vanuatu | 8:19.15 | QE |
| 4 | Vladislav Yakovlev | Kazakhstan | 11:45.22 | QF |

#### Semifinal E/F 2

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Andrew Peebles | Zimbabwe | 7:45.20 | QE |
| 2 | Jakson Vicent Monasterio | Venezuela | 7:50.56 | QE |
| 3 | Bryan Sola Zambrano | Ecuador | 7:52.86 | QE |
| 4 | Al-Hussein Gambour | Libya | 8:13.17 | QF |

#### Semifinal C/D 1

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Jhonatan Esquivel | Uruguay | 7:22.98 | QC |
| 2 | Brian Rosso | Argentina | 7:24.65 | QC |
| 3 | Memo | Indonesia | 7:25.60 | QC |
| 4 | Shakhboz Kholmirzayev | Uzbekistan | 7:26.04 | QD |
| 5 | Sid Ali Boudina | Algeria | 7:37.19 | QD |
| 6 | Arturo Rivarola | Paraguay | 7:41.43 | QD |

#### Semifinal C/D 2

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Bendegúz Pétervári-Molnár | Hungary | 7:18.88 | QC |
| 2 | Dattu Baban Bhokanal | India | 7:19.02 | QC |
| 3 | Kim Dong-yong | South Korea | 7:20.10 | QC |
| 4 | Armandas Kelmelis | Lithuania | 7:20.72 | QD |
| 5 | Renzo Leon Garcia | Peru | 7:37.34 | QD |
| 6 | Mohammed Riyadh | Iraq | 7:48.31 | QD |

#### Semifinal A/B 1

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Ondřej Synek | Czech Republic | 6:58.56 | QA |
| 2 | Damir Martin | Croatia | 6:59.43 | QA |
| 3 | Ángel Fournier | Cuba | 7:02.65 | QA |
| 4 | Juan Carlos Cabrera | Mexico | 7:03.68 | QB |
| 5 | Abdelkhalek El-Banna | Egypt | 7:13.55 | QB |
| 6 | Nils Jakob Hoff | Norway | 7:39.12 | QB |

#### Semifinal A/B 2

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Mahé Drysdale | New Zealand | 7:03.70 | QA |
| 2 | Stanislau Shcharbachenia | Belarus | 7:06.69 | QA |
| 3 | Hannes Obreno | Belgium | 7:06.76 | QA |
| 4 | Alan Campbell | Great Britain | 7:09.54 | QB |
| 5 | Rhys Grant | Australia | 7:14.68 | QB |
| 6 | Natan Węgrzycki-Szymczyk | Poland | 7:15.61 | QB |

### Finals
#### Final F

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time |
| 31 | Vladislav Yakovlev | Kazakhstan | 7:21.61 |
| 32 | Al-Hussein Gambour | Libya | 7:41.77 |

#### Final E

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time |
| 25 | Andrew Peebles | Zimbabwe | 7:43.98 |
| 26 | Jaruwat Saensuk | Thailand | 7:49.86 |
| 27 | Mohamed Taieb | Tunisia | 7:53.36 |
| 28 | Bryan Sola Zambrano | Ecuador | 7:53.54 |
| 29 | Jakson Vicent Monasterio | Venezuela | 7:57.83 |
| 30 | Luigi Teilemb | Vanuatu | 8:24.67 |

#### Final D

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time |
| 19 | Armandas Kelmelis | Lithuania | 7:00.72 |
| 20 | Renzo Leon Garcia | Peru | 7:02.28 |
| 21 | Mohammed Riyadh | Iraq | 7:03.73 |
| 22 | Shakhboz Kholmirzayev | Uzbekistan | 7:04.78 |
| 23 | Sid Ali Boudina | Algeria | 7:06.64 |
| 24 | Arturo Rivarola | Paraguay | 7:18.34 |

#### Final C

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time |
| 13 | Dattu Baban Bhokanal | India | 6:54.96 |
| 14 | Bendegúz Pétervári-Molnár | Hungary | 6:57.75 |
| 15 | Brian Rosso | Argentina | 6:58.58 |
| 16 | Memo | Indonesia | 6:59.44 |
| 17 | Kim Dong-yong | South Korea | 6:59.72 |
| 18 | Jhonatan Esquivel | Uruguay | 7:13.65 |

#### Final B

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time |
| 7 | Natan Węgrzycki-Szymczyk | Poland | 6:47.95 |
| 8 | Juan Carlos Cabrera | Mexico | 6:50.02 |
| 9 | Rhys Grant | Australia | 6:51.90 |
| 10 | Abdelkhalek El-Banna | Egypt | 6:54.94 |
| 11 | Nils Jakob Hoff | Norway | 7:02.66 |
| — | Alan Campbell | Great Britain | DNS |

#### Final A

| Rank | Rower | Nation | Time | Notes |
| | Mahé Drysdale | New Zealand | 6:41.34 | OB |
| | Damir Martin | Croatia | 6:41.34 | |
| | Ondřej Synek | Czech Republic | 6:44.10 | |
| 4 | Hannes Obreno | Belgium | 6:47.42 | |
| 5 | Stanislau Shcharbachenia | Belarus | 6:48.78 | |
| 6 | Ángel Fournier | Cuba | 6:55.90 | |