FISA, the International Rowing Federation, 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;[3] this was the seventh time that they had applied for independence.

[4] 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 said that an extra-ordinary congress to be held in November in Vienna would discuss the issue, and that he personally saw no problem with solving the problems.

[6][7] 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.

The Soviet Union managed to win a medal in all 12 boat classes.