Rowing: NZ crews miss Olympics berths

9.20am

New Zealand rowing crews came up short at the Olympic qualifying regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, today.

Two New Zealand crews were in repechage action but neither did well enough to push their case for Games inclusion at Athens in August.

Needing a top-two finish to progress further, the women's lightweight double of Rachel Starr and Caroline Steele had to make do with third place in their five-boat race.

They recorded a time of seven minutes 4.41 seconds in finishing behind Greece and race winners Ireland, who clocked 6min 59.37sec.

Also requiring a top-two finish, the men's lightweight double of Duncan Grant and Mark Patterson came fourth in their repechage in a time of 6min 26.52sec.

The race was won by Belgium in 6min 19.10sec while third-placed Slovenia were timed at 6min 24.30sec.

The New Zealand women's pair of Nicki Coles and Juliette Haigh contest their final tomorrow, when the first two crews in the five-boat race qualify for the Olympics.

- NZPA