Rowing at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's single sculls

This was the third 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.^[3]

For the first time, there was a strong international field. The Diamond Challenge Sculls winners competing were Lou Scholes of Great Britain (1904), Harry Blackstaffe of Great Britain (1906), and Alexander McCulloch of Canada (1908). Great Britain had another strong sculler in London for the Games in Frederick Septimus Kelly (1902, 1903, and 1905 Diamond champion), but he had retired from sculling and competed in the eight instead; only two of the British rowers would have been able to compete under the 1908 national limits in any case. Prominent American sculler Frank Greer, the reigning Olympic champion, did not compete.^[3]

Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, and Italy each made their debut in the event. Great Britain was the only nation to have competed before, making its second appearance.

The 1908 tournament featured four rounds of one-on-one races; with 9 boats in the competition, 7 had byes to the quarterfinals and only 1 race was held in the first round. Semifinal losers each received bronze medals. The course was 1.5 miles in length, with two slight bends near the start and about halfway.^[4]