He won an exceptionally close final against Damir Martin of Croatia.

The measurer noted Martin as the winner with photo finish, while Drysdale as second, but then the result was removed.

[3][4] The Croatian Olympic Committee disputes the photo finish, and officially requested the International Olympic Committee and International Rowing Federation for an analysis by independent experts of the entire video and photo finish.

The single sculls has been held every time that rowing has been contested, beginning in 1900.

Drysdale had been World runner-up in 2014 and 2015 as well as adding two more Diamond Challenge Sculls titles.

[2] Belarus, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Thailand, and Vanuatu each made their debut in the event.

The "scull" portion means that the rower uses two oars, one on each side of the boat; this contrasts with sweep rowing in which each rower has one oar and rows on only one side (not feasible for singles events).

The repechage was a round which offered rowers a second chance to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Placing in the quarterfinal heats determined which semifinal the boat would race in.