Olympics: no medal chance for women rowers

Switzerland's Caroline Lüthi and Bernadette Wicki have failed to qualify for the A-Final of the women's double sculls. The Swiss rowers came last in their second qualifying heat, behind Lithuania, the USA and Britain.

Against the crews from Lithuania and the USA, Lüthi and Wicki were attempting to realise the almost impossible. “We had no other choice than to make a quick start and hope that the others made a mistake,” Wicki said after the race.

But despite reaching a rate of 38 strokes per minute, the Swiss women were already out of the race after 500 metres. At the finish they were unable to hold off even the British boat.

With their medal hopes now ended, Lüthi and Wicki are now aiming for an Olympic diploma, awarded to athletes who finish in the top eight of their sporting discipline.

To achieve this they will have to finish first or second in Friday’s B-Final.

There was better news on Tuesday for Xeno Müller when the draw was made for the semi-finals of the men’s single sculls. Müller, who is defending the Olympic title he won in Atlanta, avoided an early encounter with World champion Rob Waddell.

Waddell was drawn in the same semi-final with the World championship bronze medallist, Derek Porter – another strong contender in the single sculls. In the other semi-final Müller’s toughest opponents are likely to be Vaclav Chalupa, who finished seventh in last year’s World championships, and Germany’s Marcel Hacker.

swissinfo with agencies