John Gendell Kennedy (May 19, 1900 – September 1971) was an American radio technician who as a

coxswain The coxswain ( or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the wiktionary:cockboat, cockboat, a ...

of a rowing shell competed in the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

in Paris. The American coxed four team coxed by Kennedy won the bronze medal in the coxed four event.

Biography

Taking his position at the rear of the boat, John Kennedy coxed the four members of the Bachelor’s Barge rowing club which won the qualifier for the 1924 Olympics in Paris with four other members of the Bachelor's Barge Club on Philadelphia's Schuykill River on June 13, 1924"Three Local Crews Olympic Qualifiers”, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, pg. 19, 14 June 1924 Before joining Bachelor’s, he attended the University of Pennsylvania and coxed their lightweight and junior varsity crews. Kennedy enlisted in the US Army right at the end of World War I, just after turning 18-years-old, but was discharged two months later when the war ended. He later worked as a radio technician in a department store.

Olympics

After their arrival in Paris, the American coxed four team won their heat in the preliminary round with a time of 7 minutes 19 seconds for the 1.24 mile course. In the final round, the Americans won the bronze medal in the

coxed four A coxed four, abbreviated as a 4+, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one ...

event. The competition, the fourth appearance of the event, was held from July 13–17, 1924 on the river

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

. There were 10 boats (51 competitors, with Switzerland making one substitution) from 10 nations, with each nation limited to a single boat in the event. The competition was won by Switzerland, the nation's second consecutive victory in the event, with France taking the Silver medal. As shown at left, the coxed four event featured five-person boats, with four rowers and a

shown as a yellow dot. It was a sweep rowing event, with the rowers each having one oar and each rowing on one side. The competition used the 2000 metres (1.24 miles) distance that became standard at the 1912 Olympics and which has been used ever since. The Americans finished with a time of 7:23, only two and a half seconds behind France who took the bronze. Switzerland, the pre-race favorite, finished with a sizable three-minute lead over second place France.

Bob Gerhardt Robert Buchanan Gerhardt (October 3, 1903 – January 23, 1989) was an American insurance businessman and broker. As a young Rowing (sport), rower, he won a bronze medal in coxed four crew in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Early life Rober ...

took the position of bowsmen in the front, Sid Jelinek rowed in seat two, Edward Mitchell Jr. rowed third, Henry Welsford rowed fourth (last) or Sweep, and John Kennedy functioned as coxswain. Kennedy died on January 9, 1971, in Lakewood, Colorado.

References

External links

Database Olympics profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, John 1900 births 1971 deaths American coxswains (rowing) Rowers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in rowing American male rowers Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportsmen