Wind wreaks havoc on Olympic rowing in Rio
Four Canadian teams scheduled to race on Sunday postponed until at least Monday
Pete Evans, CBC Sports
All rowing events at the 2016 Olympic rowing regatta scheduled for Sunday have been postponed due to high winds causing unsafe and unfair conditions, officials said.
The first race on the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon was set to kick off at 8:30 am local time, before being delayed until 9:30 due to high winds causing unstable conditions on the water. The start was then again delayed until 10:30. When that time came and went, word came down that events had been officially cancelled for the day.
Winds were roiling the waters of the lagoon. Rough weather also affected the first day of the competition on Saturday, with some rowers complaining that the races should have been postponed.
A Serbian two-man team was tossed into the water during their race due to the conditions on Saturday.
If you're wondering how windy it is,check out how much water <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/teamgb?src=hash">#teamgb</a> men's 4 empties out of their boat! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/xMq8Dx2irX">pic.twitter.com/xMq8Dx2irX</a>
—@MarkHunterGBThe International Rowing Federation (FISA) pushed to proceed, noting that conditions were the same for all the rowers. The weather is expected to worsen over Monday and Tuesday, when more races are scheduled, FISA said late on Saturday.
Windy conditions are expected to continue at least through Tuesday. The rowing regatta is scheduled to end by next Saturday, Aug. 13, but could be extended by one day to Aug. 14 if needed.
Around midday, organizers put out an updated schedule of rowing events, where races postponed Sunday will be squeezed in during the rest of the week.
UPDATE | <a href="https://twitter.com/cbcDougDirks">@cbcDougDirks</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/BarneyRows">@BarneyRows</a> discuss the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> rowing delay from Lagoa Stadium <a href="https://t.co/UvPRjXvNhv">https://t.co/UvPRjXvNhv</a> <a href="https://t.co/HXJQO18C4c">https://t.co/HXJQO18C4c</a>
—@CBCOlympicsBefore races were officially halted for the day, four Canadian teams were set to compete on the water on Sunday.
Carling Zeeman of Cambridge, Ont. was scheduled to race in the knockout stages in single sculls after easily winning her heat yesterday. She is scheduled to race on Tuesday in the quarter-finals.
The men's lightweight four are in the repechage after failing to finish near the top of their heat on Saturday. That's now set to go on Monday afternoon.
Conditions were not great today.Ideally for Olympic competition races would not be run as survival contests,but I am open to the challenge!
—@megankalmoeThe women's pair of Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee of Victoria have their first race in women's double sculls, and are looking for redemption after disppointment four years ago in London. They're set to race on Monday afternoon.
And the men's coxless four team was also set to row in their repechage after also failing to win their heat yesterday. That's now scheduled for first-thing Monday morning.
FISA's Matt Smith says weather forecast is improving from yesterday's doom and gloom scenario, new racing sked still being worked on
—@CBCLarsenWith files from Reuters and The Associated Press