KEY POINTS:
Never discount a champion.
That's the message to take from yesterday's action on the lake as the Evers-Swindell twins, Caroline and Georgina, put a difficult year behind them to qualify directly into Saturday's double sculls final.
Their comfortable heat victory will provide a massive filip for the duo
and put the seemingly impregnable Chinese crew of Qin Li and Liang Tian on notice.
In fact, the entire Chinese programme might be on notice as whispers spread across the paddock as to the reasons behind the late withdrawal of men's single sculler Liang Zhang. As this went to press nobody could confirm the reason for his absence from the start line.
Not that the twins will be worried by that.
"It was good to put a good performance," Georgina said. "It's been a while. It was a good confidence boost for Caroline and me.
"We had a fair idea where we were but you never quite know until you line up against the others."
The twins' winning time of 7m 03.92s was .79s slower than the Chinese only.
"It was satisfying. We took it one stroke at a time. It was funny, we were talking afterwards and we both thinking the same sorts of things as we were going down the track - just focusing on one good stroke after another good stroke."
The heat win puts them into the final and into what Georgina remembers from Athens as the "longest week". Still, she'd rather be where she is now than facing a repechage.
"It'll be a cat fight to try to make the Olympic final so I'd much rather be where we are, in control of what we do when we do our pieces.
"We've been here before."
They weren't the only double providing the team with a boost. Rob Waddell and Nathan Cohen pulled off a blistering final 500m to peg back the Belarusian double, winning their heat in 6m 24.32s, easily qualifying for Wednesday's semifinals.
Cohen must wake up in the morning feeling like a man who won the lottery the night before.
There he was, a few months back, contemplating a decent showing at Beijing with sculling partner Matthew Trott, always with the knowledge that London 2012 was a more realistic target for gold.
Now, after yesterday's heats of the doubles, a gold looks a distinct possibility for the 22-year-old Southlander.
In a wicked twist of fate, the instant that Rob Waddell's heart condition, atrial fibrillation, kicked in during his epic row-off with Mahe Drysdale for the singles berth, Cohen was handed a winning ticket.
For his part, Waddell earlier said he felt lucky to have Cohen behind him.
"His athleticism is a great attribute, he's a very athletic guy, but probably what stands out the most to me is his attitude. It's just first class in every way. And when it comes to this time you appreciate that when you've got it in your partner."
The men's pair also qualified with ease for Wednesday's semis, winning their heat easily and qualifying only a half-second slower than the favoured Australian pair of Drew Ginn and Duncan Free.
The women's pair did not have it so easy. They were a creditable second behind the world champion Belarusians but will have to go through a cut-throat repechage tomorrow.
The men's four, like the twins out of form in Europe this year, went toe-to-toe with the Dutch crew, just being pipped but qualifying comfortably for Wednesday's semifinal.
With such big fields, yesterday was largely a time for posturing for the single scullers, a chance to blow a few cobwebs out and get their lungs used to the heavy air.
Emma Twigg and Drysdale, fresh from his flag-bearing exertions, cruised to victory, though they won't feel their regatta is underway proper until tomorrow's quarter-finals.
Twigg, 21, said it was "a little harder than I expected it to be", saying she felt the tiredness in her legs kick in earlier than normal. However she remained confident it was just first-race nerves.
Drysdale took relaxation to new levels. The three-time world champion had the misfortune to of hitting a strong head wind in his heat and posted 7m 28.87s, more than 53 seconds outside his world record in the event.
Swede Lassi Karonen set the fastest time with 7m 14.64s and beat German challenger Marcel Hacker in theprocess, though Hacker comfortably qualified for the quarters. Briton Alan Campbell, a former training partner of Drysdale's, was second quickest with 7m 14.98s.
Drysdale's heat was the slowest by some margin. In fact, he recorded the 11th fastest time of the day. But he won't lose any sleep over that ahead of the quarter-final, unlike he did on Friday night when his role as team captain kept him awake until 12.30am.
MEDAL GAUGE
EMMA TWIGG, Women's single
This was not a telling day for the singles with none of the quality rowers challenged in their heats. Twigg jumped to an early lead and posted a very tasty 1m 52.03 for the first 500m. From there on in it was cruise control and though her 7m 45.12s was not one of the quicker heats, she had plenty left in the tank. Temperature gauge: Final
MAHE DRYSDALE, Men's single
Like Twigg, Drysdale did not have to push the overdrive button. Into a strong head wind, Drysdale saved whatever energy he could after a night sweltering in a blazer and Maori cloak at the Opening Ceremony. He was slow through 500m and slow through the finish but was still comfortably in control.
Temperature gauge: Gold
JULIETTE HAIGH and NICKY COLES, Women's pair
In the same heat as the Belarusian world champions Yuliya Bichyk and Natallia Helakh, Haigh and Coles were never expected to win. They didn't but finished a morale-boosting second. However, they would have liked to have taken a slightly quicker time into Monday's repechage, with four boats in the second heat posting quicker times than their 7m 31.45s.
Temperature gauge: Final
GEORGE BRIDEWATER and NATHAN TWADDLE, Men's pair
A classy showing. Went through the 500m just behind their Serbian rivals and that was the only time they ever looked vulnerable. Kicked up a gear on the way to the 1000m and stayed there. Their time of 6m 41.65s put them just a fraction of a second behind Australia's heat time. Very promising stuff. Temperature gauge: Silver
CAROLINE and GEORGINA EVERS-SWINDELL, women's double
A stirring performance, this. Written off in some quarters after a poor European campaign, the twins and their cagy coach Dick Tonks proved there's life in this dynamic duo yet. Led from the front against a strong field and never let go of the reins, posting 7m 03.92s. China look awesome too.
Temperature gauge: Silver
NATHAN COHEN and ROB WADDELL, Men's double
At the 1500m mark you began to wonder whether there had been a little too much hype surrounding this duo. However, the way they moved up a gear in the final 500m was an awesome demonstration of power and proved their favouritism is deserved.
Temperature gauge: Gold
HAMISH BOND, ERIC MURRAY, JAMES DALLINGER and CARL MEYER, Men's coxless four
Got off to a poor start but gutsed it out in a tough heat. On current form they would have been expected to beat the Dutch but they got a lot closer than many would have predicted, dipping out by .23s. Like the twins, have they been foxing up to now?
Temperature gauge: Final
