KEY POINTS:
China wasted no time flexing Olympic muscles 10 weeks out from Beijing's Big Show as the A finals at the second World Cup rowing regatta began on Lucerne's Lake Rotsee last night.
New Zealand's women's coxless pair Juliette Haigh and Nicky Coles were fifth in their final, left in the wake of the impressive Chinese pair of You Wu and Yulan Gao.
The Chinese shot clear at the start and were never troubled to win in 7min 05.94s.
The first of seven New Zealand crews in A finals, 2005 world champions Haigh and Coles, who clocked 7:17.40, were having their first regatta since arriving in Europe. Minutes later Chinese women took first and third places in the double sculls final.
New Zealand's first medal came in the non-Olympic lightweight single scull early yesterday (NZT), when defending world champion Duncan Grant took the silver. Grant, battling back after illness and injury problems earlier in the season, crossed between two Dutch oarsmen. The title went to Jaap Schouten, who recorded 7min 13.14s. Grant was second throughout the race and clocked 7:17.78.
Lightweight women's double scullers Louise Ayling and Candice Hammond got third in the B final last night, recording 7:17.96. Danish pair Katrin Olsen and Juliane Rasmussen won in 7:14.02.
The women's eight were second in the two-crew B final, China clocking 6:14.55, 3.34s ahead of New Zealand. Both those women's crews and the men's lightweight double scullers Storm Uru and Peter Taylor, contesting their A final late last night, are hoping to qualify for Beijing this month in Poznan, Poland.
