Good Olympic news... in a way

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Good Olympic news... in a way

ATHENS (Reuters) - Strong winds forced organizers of the junior world rowing championships to call off all races on Thursday, a day after several crews capsized in the newly constructed Olympic rowing complex near Athens.

Organizers said the northern winds blowing in the eastern Athens complex had picked up on the second day of the competition and made rowing impossible.

"Because of high winds the day's events have been canceled and will be rescheduled for Friday," an official announcer said as disappointed rowers milled around the site and waited for hurried arrangements to get them back to their hotels.

The championships held in the Skinias rowing complex, 30 km from the capital which will host the 2004 Olympics, are seen as a crucial test for the venue and organizers ahead of next year's Games.

But so far hopes of a faultless start to venue testing have sunk without trace with the competition severely affected by the weather and with critics claiming the location of the rowing center was inappropriate due to high winds blowing in the area during August.

They say a nearby windfarm proves the area is not suitable for this sport.

The competition had been dogged by the August winds, locally known as meltemia, even before its start, as athletes had a hard time practising on the choppy waters.

The gusts traditionally arrive in August cooling a country where summer temperatures soar past 40 degrees Celsius. The Athens Olympics will start on August 13, 2004.

On Wednesday two crews had to be rescued after their boats sank in mid-race, leaving their coaches furious.

"The race absolutely should not have gone ahead," British team manager David Tanner told Reuters after watching his team disappear under the waves to lose first place.

Athens officials have in the past considered planting trees as a windbreak but rejected the idea because they say it would favor some lanes over others.

Yes, it really does blow like crap in the Mediterreanean during the summer.

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