The great Danes – the lightweight men’s four

One of two lightweight boat classes on the men’s Olympic rowing programme, the other being the lightweight men’s double sculls, the lightweight four will feature a total of 52 athletes and 13 boats at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Having been introduced to the Olympic Games in 1996, its Olympic history is relatively short.

Since its Olympic début in Atlanta, one crew has stood out amongst the rest: Denmark. Its history in this event is phenomenal. Of the twelve Olympic medals claimed in this event, four belong to Denmark: three golds and one bronze. One single man was in the boat for each of those medals, Eskild Ebbesen. Ebbesen has been racing as a lightweight at senior international level since 1992. He is the number one male rower on World Rowing’s 2011 list of Top 10 Male Rowers and is third overall in rowing’s list of all-time most successful male rowers.

In 1996, Ebbesen, along with Victor Feddersen, Niels Henriksom and Thomas Poulsen, crossed the line ahead of Canada and the United States to win the first Olympic gold. In the years between Atlanta and Sydney, Denmark took charge of the lightweight men’s four, not giving any other nation the privilege of being the world’s greatest in this event. The pool at the top of this boat class remained tight, with only France, Germany and Australia managing to take silver or bronze at the World Rowing Championships during that Olympic cycle.

The 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney did not go exactly as Denmark planned. Thomas Poulsen suffered injury and the Danes finished with bronze. France’s Laurent Porchier, Jean-Christophe Bette, Yves Hocde and Xavier Dorfman claimed Olympic gold whilst the home crew took silver.

As the Sydney Games ended and the Athens Olympiad began, the Danish embarked on a new campaign to become Olympic Champions once again. Taking silver behind Austria in 2001, by the 2002 World Rowing Championships the Danes were back on top and remained there until Athens despite Italy being strong challengers.

Going into the Olympic Games as World Champions yields pressures of its own. Despite this, Denmark’s crew, consisting this time of Thor Kristensen, Thomas Ebert and Stephan Moelvig in addition to Ebbesen, managed to do what they went to do in Athens – win Olympic gold. They raced the way they did it best: bursting out of the blocks hard, settling minimally throughout the middle of the course and then going up another gear for the finish. Australia and Italy took silver and bronze, respectively, but were unable to truly challenge Denmark at any point.

After the Athens Games, the Danish took a break from the lightweight men’s four. This made way for a new generation of challengers to the podium. In the lead up to the Beijing Games more crews than ever featured on the podium. France became World Champions in 2005. Ireland showed promise as its four had climbed through the ranks, medalling in both 2005 and 2006. It was China’s gold medal winning performance that made many think top honours at the Beijing Games would go to the host nation. In 2007 a young British crew surprised many by claiming gold at the World Rowing Championships. Denmark had reappeared, however, finishing discretely in sixth position.

The Beijing Games were dramatic. After a promising World Cup season, medal hopefuls Germany were forced to withdraw at the semi-final stage due to illness. Crews who were considered potential medallists during the Olympiad ended in the B-final. In the A-final, Poland improved from eighth place in 2007 to silver, while Denmark, with Ebbesen back in the boat, took the lead from the start and put in the most convincing performance to claim their nation’s third Olympic gold in this event. Canada took bronze.

The run-up to the London Olympic Games has seen a variation of nations and faces on the World Rowing Championships podium. After the disappointment of Beijing, the Germans returned on a mission in 2009. Their new line-up of two brothers and a set of twins seemed to be the new dominant force. Demark appeared with only one of its Beijing crew members – Morten Joergensen – to claim world silver in that year also. Based on their silver medal in 2010 and gold in 2011, Australia appear to be the crew to watch as we enter the 2012 season. Australian Anthony Edwards, winner of two Olympic silvers in the lightweight men’s four and one bronze in the lightweight double, has been named alongside Samuel Beltz, Benjamin Cureton and Todd Skippworth as the crew who hope to add gold to Australia’s collection of Olympic medals in the lightweight men’s four.

However, with 40-year-old Ebbesen back in the Danish crew since 2011, who knows what will happen at Eton Dorney this summer.

Did you know:

• China’s gold in the lightweight men’s four in 2006 was the nation’s first men’s rowing medal.
• Great Britain have named brothers Richard and Peter Chambers in their crew for the first World Rowing Cup of 2012 which puts them in a good position to be chosen for the London Olympic Games.
• The crew average weight for lightweight men is 70kg, with a maximum individual weight of 72.5kg.

Olympic Medal Table