13 Aug 2008

Mahe Drysdale through to Olympic final but only just

8:39 pm on 13 August 2008

World champion rower Mahe Drysdale has had a huge fright in his semi final of the men's single sculls at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Drysdale's finished third and qualified for the final but was pushed hard in the closing stages of the race and almost pipped for a final berth by Greece.

Drysdale seemed to be coasting into the final with 500 metres to go but was run down in the final stages by Great Britain's Alan Campbell, who finished second.

Ondrej Synek comfortably won the semi final.