Rowing: 'Caught a crab' pair battled back to reach final

1.00pm - By DANIEL GILHOOLY

ATHENS - New Zealand women's pair Juliette Haigh and Nicky Coles transferred crabbiness over their heat dunking into a remarkable qualifying row to the Olympic final here today.

The most unexpected New Zealand story to emerge from a dream day at the Schinias course was that of the Auckland-based duo, who were late qualifiers for the Games and who underwent an ignominious public drenching in the heats on Saturday.

Rather than feel embarrassed about falling from their boat after Coles' oar "caught a crab", they initially tried to forget about it.

But Haigh found herself recalling the moment on the start line of their repechage yesterday.

"If it was my mind at all, it was just fuelling aggression," Haigh told NZPA.

"It wasn't a worry for us, it was more something to use for this race."

The pair were controlled throughout the 2000m course, holding on comfortably to second place to advance to a race on Saturday which they have dreamed about since earning their Games ticket at a qualifying regatta in Lucerne three months ago.

Coles said they were desperate to prove their selection was justified.

"We knew that we could, it's important to live up to your own expectations," she said.

"It (final) will actually be the last phase of about 15 we've been through."

She said all the New Zealand rowers had driven each other on in their pre-Games team camp in Belgium.

"I think we all had a bit of an inkling that we were going well. There's good feeling within everyone and it's showing."

Coles, 32, has been a New Zealand representative for many years but admitted to nerves before today's race.

While they were more than four seconds behind Great Britain repechage winners Katherine Grainger and Cath Bishop, the New Zealanders felt they may have subconsciously relaxed as the gap back to third place grew.

The only New Zealand women rowing to win an Olympic medal were Lynley Hannen and Nikki Payne, whose bronze came in the same event at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Coles had barely given their prospects in the final a thought.

"I've got know idea," she said.

"We're there, that's all I know."

- NZPA