By Roy Masters
Rio de Janeiro: International rowing officials declared conditions on Rio's Lagoa course as "rowable and fair" but, as with most bland bulletins in high-level sport, that statement belied the tense FISA meeting that had been held in the judges' tower in which the races were almost called off on the first day of competition at these Olympics.
IOC vice president John Coates, a former cox and a keen student of the sport, later admitted: "The judges considered calling it off because conditions were too blustery, particularly at the 500m-to-halfway point of the course. There would have been time on the program to reschedule the races but the crowd wouldn't have been too happy."
The large crowd, which included Australia's richest woman, Gina Rinehart, sat in idyllic weather on this picturesque course at the foot of craggy mountains, within sight of the Christ the Redeemer statue and the high-rise apartments of the mega wealthy. They certainly would have been disgruntled if the day was abandoned.
But not Australia's dual world champion single sculler, Kim Brennan. She savaged the FISA officials after her third place in an event in which she has been undefeated in World Cups this year.
Gold medal chance: Kim Brennan.Credit: Getty Images
"They've never raced us in these sort of conditions before," she fumed. "It's unprecedented to race a race in cross whitecap conditions. Normally, this would be deemed unrowable."
Brennan, who came third behind Mexican and Zimbabwean boats, qualified for the finals, just edging ahead of the fourth-placed Korean sculler by less than two seconds, being 11 seconds off the pace.
Waves crashed into her boat as it filled with water, with Brennan declaring: "It almost sank."
A Serbian boat actually did, with the mens' pair crew having to be rescued.
A Serbian pair capsize while competing,Credit: AP
The wild winds which lashed the course were the worst during Brennan's race, compounding the additional disadvantages of single female scullers who weigh less than the men and row a lighter boat.
However, Brennan admitted she had added a further challenge by erroneously make a choice that morning to race in her lighter boat, which is more suited to calm weather, rather than the heavier one designed for rough weather.
The shock weather change clearly unsettled Brennan who had previously raced in Rio with a local club and had obviously never previously faced such conditions. Her mood deteriorated further when she was called upon for a random drug test.
Australia's male single sculler, Rhys Grant, who finished second in his heat and also qualified for the finals, sympathised with her.
"The wind blew and it was pretty challenging," he said. "It was even worse during the womens' race. Some of the girls were close to falling in. I had a couple of inches of water in the boat.
"There's a fine line between going fast and being safe. The middle of the race was more about surviving than driving [through the stroke]. The conditions have thrown up a few results that were less than predicted."
Grant, who finished strongly, surging over the line, was bettered only by four-time world champion Ondrej Synek from the Czech Republic.
The Australian mens' pair of Spencer Turrin and Alex Lloyd, although a long partnership, had never rowed as a pair internationally before.
Brennan complimented them for their quick adjustment to the conditions, saying: "The pair took advantage of the rough water."
Coates reinforced this, saying: "They were very smooth at the catch and handled the conditions well."
Both are products of Sydney private schools, with Turrin having attended Joeys and Lloyd going to Shore but, more significantly for proud Coates, they are members of his Sydney Rowing Club.
The race tactics of the Australian womens' double sculls crew followed a predictable course – going out hard and being run down by New Zealand at the end.
In fact, the day belonged to the Kiwis, with a seemingly never-ending procession of New Zealand crews crossing the line first.
No.1 in the world, the Kiwis receive half the money of Rowing Australia but train twice as hard, critics maintain.
The performance of Australia's mens' quad sculls crew justified pre-race predictions that they are Australia's best gold medal chance.
Out fast, they were second at the halfway mark, maintained that position at the 1500 metre point and surged strongly at the end, rowing fluently and flawlessly to finish ahead of the second placegetters Poland.
The womens' quad sculls could not cut down the unassailable lead of the Ukrainian boat and must now proceed to the repechage round.
While Brennan described the early conditions as a "bit of a lottery", her main rival, New Zealand's Emma Twigg won her heat, as did seemingly all the Kiwis, and the Australian pair adjusted tactically.
The poise, power and patience of Australia's mens' quad sculls crew indicated they could succeed in a cyclonic sea.