Rowing at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Men's coxed pair

This was the fourth appearance of the event. Rowing had been on the programme in 1896 but was cancelled due to bad weather. The men's coxed pair was one of the original four events in 1900, but was not held in 1904, 1908, or 1912. It returned to the programme after World War I and was held every Games from 1924 to 1992, when it (along with the men's coxed four) was replaced with the men's lightweight double sculls and men's lightweight coxless four.[2]

None of the crew members from the 1924 coxed pair event returned. The most accomplished crew was likely the Swiss Schöchlin brothers, who had won the European championship in double sculls in 1922 and had been members of the European champion eight team in 1925.[2]

No nations made their debut in the event; the field consisted of all six nations that had competed previously. Belgium and France each made their fourth appearance, the two nations to have competed in all three prior editions.

The coxed pair event featured three-person boats, with two rowers and a coxswain. It was a sweep rowing event, with the rowers each having one oar (and thus each rowing on one side). In a very unusual situation, the competition featured as many rounds as there were boats: six. There were four main rounds and two repechages. The course used the 2000 metres distance that became the Olympic standard in 1912.[3]

• Heats: There were three heats of 2 boats each. The winner of each advanced to the quarterfinals, while the loser of each went to the first repechage. (Because the Dutch team did not finish, it was eliminated instead of going to the repechage.)
• First repechage: There was a single heat of 2 boats. The winner advanced to the quarterfinals, with the loser eliminated.
• Quarterfinals: There were two heats of 2 boats each. The winner of each advanced to the semifinals; the loser went to a second repechage, as long as it had not already been to the first repechage. (Italy did not finish, so was eliminated instead of going to the repechage.)
• Second repechage: With only one boat in the second repechage, there was no competition and Belgium advanced to the semifinals.
• Semifinals: There were two semifinals; winners advanced to the final. With three boats remaining, one of the semifinals was a walkover. The loser of the other received bronze.
• Final: A single final of two boats for gold and silver medals.

Source: Official results;[4] De Wael[5]

Heat 1

Rank	Rowers	Coxswain	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Hans Schöchlin, Karl Schöchlin	Hans Bourquin	Switzerland	8:41.2	Q
2	Armand Marcelle, Édouard Marcelle	Henri Préaux	France	8:41.4	R

Heat 2

The Belgium team of de Coninck, Anthony, and Flament (from left)

Rank	Rowers	Coxswain	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Léon Flament, François de Coninck	Georges Anthony	Belgium	8:58.4	Q
2	Tjapko van Bergen, Cornelis Dusseldorp	Hendrik Smits	Netherlands	DNF

Heat 3

Rank	Rowers	Coxswain	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Pier Luigi Vestrini, Renzo Vestrini	Cesare Milani	Italy	8:42.0	Q
2	Augustus Goetz, Joe Dougherty	Thomas Mack	United States	8:44.8	R

First repechage

Winners advanced to the second round, but were ineligible for a second repechage if they lost there. Losers were eliminated.

Rank	Rowers	Coxswain	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Armand Marcelle, Édouard Marcelle	Henri Préaux	France	8:37.2	Q
2	Augustus Goetz, Joe Dougherty	Thomas Mack	United States	8:41.2

Quarterfinal 1

Rank	Rowers	Coxswain	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Hans Schöchlin, Karl Schöchlin	Hans Bourquin	Switzerland	7:41.8	Q
2	Pier Luigi Vestrini, Renzo Vestrini	Cesare Milani	Italy	DNF

Quarterfinal 2

Rank	Rowers	Coxswain	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Armand Marcelle, Édouard Marcelle	Henri Préaux	France	7:53.4	Q
2	Léon Flament, François de Coninck	Georges Anthony	Belgium	8:02.4	R

Second repechage

Italy had not finished the second round, so Belgium was the only team to qualify for the second repechage, receiving a bye to the semifinals.

Rank	Rowers	Coxswain	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Léon Flament, François de Coninck	Georges Anthony	Belgium	Bye	Q

Semifinal 1

Rank	Rowers	Coxswain	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Armand Marcelle, Édouard Marcelle	Henri Préaux	France	7:48.2	Q
	Léon Flament, François de Coninck	Georges Anthony	Belgium	7:59.4

Semifinal 2

Rank	Rowers	Coxswain	Nation	Time	Notes
1	Hans Schöchlin, Karl Schöchlin	Hans Bourquin	Switzerland	8:02.0	Q

Final

Rank	Rowers	Coxswain	Nation	Time
	Hans Schöchlin, Karl Schöchlin	Hans Bourquin	Switzerland	7:42.6
	Armand Marcelle, Édouard Marcelle	Henri Préaux	France	7:48.4