The 1965 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the

Wedau The Wedau Regatta Course is an artificial rowing/canoeing lake in Duisburg, Germany. The Course was built in 1935 and has hosted numerous international watersports events since its construction. Including the 1983 World Rowing Championships. It ...

regatta course in the West German city of

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

. This edition of the

European Rowing Championships The European Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organised by World Rowing (named FISA until 2020) for European rowing nations, plus Israel, which, though not a member of the European federation, is treated as a European n ...

was held from 20 to 22 August for women, and from 26 to 29 August for men. Women entered in five boat classes (W1x, W2x, W4x+, W4+, W8+), and 12 countries sent 36 boats. Men competed in all seven Olympic boat classes (M1x, M2x, M2-, M2+, M4-, M4+, M8+), and 22 countries sent 89 boats. East German crews did not attend the championships.

German participation

FISA, the

International Rowing Federation World Rowing, also known as the World Rowing Federation (officially FISA; ), is the international governing body for rowing. Its current president is Jean-Christophe Rolland who succeeded Denis Oswald at a ceremony held in Lucerne in July 2 ...

, did not recognise East Germany as a country and insisted on one German team per boat class. In June 1965, the East German rowing federation put an application to the world governing body to be recognised as an independent state; this was the seventh time that they had applied for independence. There was insufficient time to discuss the issue at the congress held in Duisburg just prior to the men's competition, but FISA president

Thomas Keller Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, the French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Found ...

said that an extra-ordinary congress to be held in November in

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would discuss the issue, and that he personally saw no problem with solving the problems. East German teams did not compete at these championships. Helena Smalman-Smith, who maintains a website on English women's rowing, puts forward three theories about their absence: there was "the possibility of defection from an event in West Germany", "not wanting the athletes to see how much more prosperous the western part of their country" had become, and putting pressure on FISA to change their stance on a combined German team.

Medal summary – women's events

The finals for the women were held on 22 August.

Medal summary – men's events

The regatta for men was held from 26 to 29 August. The Soviet Union was the only country to have boats in all finals.

Medals table

The table shows the aggregate results for men and women. The overall winner was the Soviet Union with seven gold medals, followed by West Germany with two gold medals. The Soviet Union managed to win a medal in all 12 boat classes. A total of 12 countries won medals.

References

{{European Rowing Championships European Rowing Championships

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

Sport in Duisburg Sports competitions in North Rhine-Westphalia 1960s in North Rhine-Westphalia 1965 in women's rowing August 1965 sports events in Europe