Rowing: NZ women's pair suffer dunking

8.00pm - By DANIEL GILHOOLY

ATHENS - New Zealand women's rowing pair Nicky Coles and Juliette Haigh finished an ignominious last in their heat after falling in the water at the Olympic rowing regatta here today.

Coles' oar caught a rough patch of water just after the halfway point in their 2000m race, flinging both rowers into the water at the Schinias course. They both clambered back into their craft and completed the race in a distant fifth place which ensures they still qualify for the repechages on Monday.

The New Zealanders were coming third at the time of the incident.

Coles said she had "caught a crab", a rowing term for getting the oar caught in an uneven patch of water, lifting it violently from her hand.

Coles and Haigh were still 500m down the course when the leading crews finished and limped carefully across the line to ensure qualification.

- NZPA