A Norwegian rowing pair suffered a bizarre exit from Olympic medal contention on Wednesday - capsizing during their semifinal event after catching a crab (a rowing term for losing control of an oar).
To add insult to injury the duo, who had to be plucked from the water by lifeguards,were in second place with only 500m to go before the mishap.
Kristoffer Brun and Are Weierholt Strandli, bronze medallists in Rio five years ago, were again one of the medal favourites in the lightweight men's double sculls in Tokyo, after comfortably winning their heat on Saturday to advance to the semifinal.
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Brun and Strandli were 1500m into the race and on track for a final spot when TV cameras caught them inexplicably splashing down and tipping over moments later.
The pair had to be helped by lifeguards, with commentators describing the incident as "heartbreaking", but later confirming that neither Brun nor Strandli were injured.
The race was won by Germany's Jason Osborne and Jonathan Rommelman in a time of 6:07.33.
The Norwegians, who were in second when they capsized, managed to get back in the boat and eventually cross the line - in over double the time it took the Germans, finishing in 12:16:25.
Their medal hopes now over, the pair will hope for a smoother journey when they race in tomorrow's B final.
Kristoffer Brun and Are Weierholt Strandli hold on to their capsized boat. Photo / Getty Images
Earlier on the water, there was nearly a shocking crash when the Great Britain coxless four experienced steering problems at the end of their final.
On track to win silver with just seconds to go, instead, the four completely lost control and nearly veered into the outside lane, narrowly avoiding a crash with the Italian crew.
Australia claimed gold, with Great Britain finishing fourth - the first time they had failed to win gold in the event since 2000.
"Oh my goodness, my heart goes out to the British four. That will take a long time to get over," said the commentators.
"What on earth happened in the last 200m? What is going on? Has the steering gone all together, is it equipment failure, is the bow pulling the boat round?
"This is the sort of thing you'd see at a local regatta, not the Olympic games in the final with a medal at stake."
