Australia's eight hit by new curse

BEIJING (Reuters) - Australian rowers were left questioning their luck in Olympic eight's races Monday after the rudder on the men's boat jammed, forcing the crew to veer at speed out of their lane and almost collide.

The dramatic maneuver occurred in the heat and the crew will have a second chance of making the final in a repechage on Tuesday, unlike the women's eight in Athens who memorably missed out on a medal after rower Sally Robbins suddenly stopped racing.

The Australian men's eight, seen as a favorite for a medal in Beijing, is being led by three-times Olympic champion James Tomkins who is competing at his sixth Games and carried the flag at the opening ceremony in Beijing.

"We were happy with how they started but it's very disappointing, the rudder caught and jammed," head coach Noel Donaldson said.

Tomkins said the crew had got off to a good start, lying in second place just behind world champions Canada at 500 meters, when the steering broke. The rudder jammed after cox Marty Rabjohns applied it slightly, taking the boat into Canada's lane.

"We thought we got off to a good start, but it was a malfunction (and) Marty had a real hard time," Tomkins said. "We were lucky we didn't hit any of the other crews. If we had we would have been up in the jury room."

The sight of an Australian eight trailing in last brought back memories of the Athens' women's eight race which was dubbed the "Lay Down Sally" affair in the Australian media after Robbins stopped rowing in the final stages of the Olympic final due to exhaustion.

The incident caused an uproar in Australia and led to Robbins being vilified and slapped by a teammate at an official dinner. The crew were ordered to undergo counseling after the then Prime Minister John Howard called for calm between the warring rowers.

(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

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