Rowers divided over lightweight events
With lightweight events the focus of Olympic rowing competition on Wednesday, the controversial issue of their participation in the Games returned to the fore.

Lightweights, where both the rowers and their boats aren't allowed to exceed certain weight levels, are competing in an Olympics for the first time at Lake Lanier.

Their participation was made possible when three open events--the men's coxed pairs and fours and women's coxless fours--were dropped from the Olympic program.

The new lightweight events are men's double sculls, men's coxless fours, and women's double sculls.

"It's a pity really. The whole lightweight program should have been included without the removal of any heavyweight events," said British sculler Peter Haining.

The issue has split the rowing world. Even the council of FISA, rowing's international body, could not reach a consensus before putting the issue to a vote by national federations.

FISA has agreed to review the decision at its congress in Sydney next year. However, executive director Matt Smith said the main debate would be over whether to drop events from the world championships.

"We aren't trying to mirror the Olympic program but we are definitely talking about a reduction in events," he said.

"By going from five heavyweight men's events to three there has been a focused concentration and the standard has improved. Meanwhile the lightweight races have been the most exciting of the Olympics, the margins are so close."

Jose Maria de Marco, bow man in the Spanish lightweight double scull, said: "With only two boats for the lightweight men to compete in everybody is looking to be in those events. That is why I think we are very close to the heavyweights now.

"The same thing would happen if there were only two heavyweight events," he said.

The fastest heat time in de Marco's event--6:46.66 minutes--was only just over three seconds slower than the fastest heavyweight time, although the lightweights are about 35 to 45 pounds lighter.

Wind conditions, however, can differ widely and the difference between the two categories is usually closer to 10 seconds.

"We are all the same weight so it's not just a question of who is biggest and strongest," said Wendy Wiebe, stroke of Canada's lightweight women's double skull.

Heavyweights argue that since the best lightweights such as Haining have always competed in the Olympics, there is no need for special events.

But it is the coxes who are least happy with the decision to include lightweights because their events have been slashed from four to two

"It's bad for coxes now that there's only one slot in each men's team and only 10 slots for male coxes in the world," said Garry Herbert, who coxes the British men's eight.

Herbert steered Greg and Johnny Searle to Olympic gold in the coxed pairs event at the Barcelona Games.

"No one's challenged me in the last four years and that's bad for coxing and it's bad for me," he said.

This story written by Reuters correspondents