Olympic dreams over for four and eight
New Zealand's lightweight four and heavyweight men's eight have both failed to qualify for the Olympic Regatta in London
after their final throws of the dice in the A Finals at the Last Chance Regatta this morning in Lucerne, Switzerland.
The lightweight four finished third behind the USA and the Netherlands, missing out on one of the two qualifying places
by just a second and a half. The men's eight were also knocked out by a USA crew, finishing four seconds down and in
second place, with just the winners to qualify for London. It continues a long run of Olympic appearances for the USA
eight, but meant heartbreak for the young Kiwi crew.
Both the four and the eight started well, but could not make an impression on the crews filling the vital qualifying
spots.
The four of Duncan Grant, Graham Oberlin Brown, James Lassche and Curtis Rapley came closest, fighting back from fourth
place at the start to be level with the Netherlands and Serbia with 500 metres to go.
In the final 500 metres, their sprint, which had been beaten on both occasions they have needed to use it in races, let
them down again and the Netherlands were able to carve out the small, but hugely significant margin that would bring
them home second and take them, and the race winners from the USA to London. Serbia were outsprinted, but third place
wasn't enough for New Zealand.
ENDS