Live updates: Rowing World Championships

Six New Zealand crews will race in finals this afternoon. Photo / Getty Images

nzherald.co.nz bring live updates of the first full day of finals action at the Rowing World Championships on Lake Karapiro.

4.14pm
New Zealand will have to wait another day in search of their first gold medal of the World Championships.

Of the six Kiwi crews that competed in finals this afternoon, three teams finished in the medals.

Today's results:
Men's lightweight pair: James Lassche/Graham Oberlin-Brown - Silver
Women's coxless four: Genevieve Behrent/Ali Burnside/Zoe Stevenson/Lucy Spoors - Fourth
Women's lightweight double scull: Julia Edward/Lucy Strack - Sixth
Men's lightweight double scull: Storm Uru/Peter Taylor - Bronze
Men's coxless four: Simon Watson/Hamish Burson/Jade Uru/David Eade - Bronze
Women's quad: Sarah Gray/Fiona Bourke/Genevieve Armstrong/Linda Matthews - Sixth

Check back tomorrow for more action from Lake Karapiro.

4.10pm
Great Britain win, Ukraine finish second and Germany take home bronze. The New Zealand crew finished in sixth place.

4.06pm
At the halfway mark New Zealand look out of the race, five seconds off the leaders Ukraine who are being pushed by Great Britain with 1000m to go.

4.02pm
New Zealand are an outside chance of getting a medal in this race. Ukraine are the defending champions while Great Britain had the fastest qualifying time.

3.58pm
Just one more final for New Zealand today, the women's quad crew of Sarah Gray, Fiona Bourke, Genevieve Armstrong, Linda Matthews.

Three medals so far for New Zealand today, one silver and two bronze.

3.55pm
BRONZE FOR NEW ZEALAND
A bit of a boilover as France hold off Greece for the gold while New Zealand finish strong and pass Great Britain in the final 50m. The Brits struggled in the late stages of the race after leading for the first 1500 metres.

3.51pm
Halfway through the race and New Zealand have fallen back to third as France move into second.

3.49pm
At the 500m mark Great Britain have gone out strong to hold the lead over New Zealand in second.

3.48pm
This race also expects a clash between New Zealand and Great Britain. The Kiwis had the fastest qualifying time while Great Britain are the defending world champions.

3.46pm
Next up is the men's coxless four final including the New Zealand crew of Simon Watson, Hamish Burson, Jade Uru and David Eade.

3.42pm
BRONZE FOR NEW ZEALAND
A big win for Purchase and Hunter, Italy take silver and a photo finish for third place. After a few minutes the bronze is given to New Zealand.

The conditions seemed to get the Uru and Taylor as it looks like the choppy water and wind hurts the crews on the outside lanes of the course. Disappointing for the defending world champions as the battle between New Zealand and Great Britain doesn't eventuate.

3.38pm
The British pair are a second second lead on Italy now with New Zealand a further four seconds back. Canada now pushing Uru and Taylor for the bronze.

3.35pm
At the 500m mark the British duo lead the Kiwis by 1.25 seconds. Italy sitting in third right beside the New Zealanders. Then at the 1000m mark Uru and Taylor fall back to third, four seconds behind Great Britain. The Kiwis will need a strong second half to get gold.

3.33pm
Great Britain's Olympic champions Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter vs the defending champions Uru and Taylor is one of the highlights of the day. And they're off...

3.29pm
Next race is a big gold medal hope for New Zealand with Storm Uru and Peter Taylor racing in the men's lightweight double sculls final.

So three finals so far and just one medal for the home nation. Can Uru and Taylor add to that number?

3.27pm
A fantastic finish as Canada hold off a late surge by Germany. Greece finish in third while Julia Edward and Lucy Strack come sixth. A commendable effort by the young New Zealand duo who will be names to look out for in the future.

3.22pm
The choppy conditions are causing some problems for the crews as they pass the halfway point. New Zealand have fallen further back to fifth place now.

3.18pm
The race gets underway and New Zealand get away to a good start holding second place early as Canada takes the lead. But as they reach the 500m mark the Kiwi duo have fallen back to third. Germany lead Canada.

3.15pm
The women's lightweight double sculls final starts in three minutes. A brief break for a medal presentation as James Lassche and Graham Oberlin-Brown receive their silver medals.

3.10pm
New Zealand finish out of the medals as Netherlands defend their world title with a convincing win. Australia finish in second and the USA take bronze.

Up next the women's lightweight double scull final featuring New Zealand duo Julia Edward and Lucy Strack.

3.05pm
At the 1000m mark New Zealand slip past the USA from fourth into third.

3.03pm
The women's four race begins. Just four crews in the final - Australia, Netherlands, USA and New Zealand so only one country will miss out on a medal.

Netherlands are the world champions while Australia had the fastest qualifying time.

2.58pm
One final one medal already for New Zealand. A pity it's not gold but a great effort by a young duo who were competing at the world under-23 championships just 10 weeks ago.

Next race up in a few minutes: Women's coxless four final including the New Zealand crew - Genevieve Behrent/Ali Burnside/Zoe Stevenson/Lucy Spoors.

2.55pm
SILVER FOR NEW ZEALAND
Almost the perfect start to the finals with James Lassche and Graham Oberlin-Brown leading for a large chunk of the race before being passed by the French in the final 500m.

Fabien Tilliet and Jean-Christophe Bette retain their world title, silver for New Zealand and bronze for Canada.

2.48pm
The race is underway and France and Italy go out in front early but as they reach the 500m mark the New Zealand pair move into second behind France.

As they pass the 1000m mark the New Zealanders lead. Could New Zealand have their first gold of the World Champs?

2.43pm
So first up for New Zealand will be the men's lightweight pair of James Lassche and Graham Oberlin-Brown.

Their big rivals for the final will be French world champions Fabien Tilliet and Jean-Christophe Bette who they beat in the heats.

Five minutes away from the final.

2.30pm

There are six New Zealand crews racing off for medals today. Here are the times they will race:

2.48pm: Men's lightweight pair: James Lassche/Graham Oberlin-Brown

3.03pm: Women's coxless four: Genevieve Behrent/Ali Burnside/Zoe Stevenson/Lucy Spoors

3.18pm: Women's lightweight double scull: Julia Edward/Lucy Strack

3.33pm: Men's lightweight double scull: Storm Uru/Peter Taylor

3.50pm: Men's coxless four: Simon Watson/Hamish Burson/Jade Uru/David Eade

4.03pm: Women's quad: Sarah Gray/Fiona Bourke/Genevieve Armstrong/Linda Matthews

There's a light head win down at Lake Karapiro today but the choppy conditions seen in the earlier B and C finals have eased.

Not the best start to the afternoon for New Zealand with lightweight single sculler Duncan Grant, a three times world champion, missing out on a finals spot after finishing fourth in his semifinal.

Some good news though as Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan won their double sculls semifinal and are looking good for a medal on Sunday.

- Herald online