Why was a rower at the 1956 Olympics awarded two golds for one event?

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Gold- Vyacheslav Ivanov Silver- Stuart Mackenzie The young Australian [Stuart Mackenzie] easily qualified for the Olympic final and led the race with less than 100 metres to go. But then he seemed to stop paddling. The great Russian champion, Vyascheslav Ivanov, came from behind and took out the gold medal. Mackenzie's explanation was that he had planned to lead throughout the race and put in his final burst, 200 metres from the finish line. He said officials had placed buoys at 100 metre intervals for most of the course but changed the placement to 50 metre intervals for the last 250 metres. Not aware of this, he counted the buoys and thought he had finished the race when in fact he was still a hundred metres out. His strength sapped, he could barely pull his oars through the water and Ivanov shot past him for Olympic glory. So elated was Ivanov with his victory that upon receiving his gold he jumped up and down with joy and dropped his medal into the depths of Lake Wendouree. He immediately dived into the murky water but came back up empty-handed. After the games were over he was given a replacement medal by the International Olympic Committee. http://www.rowingaustralia.com.au/athletes_history1.html Aug 24 04, 4:48 PM