"In some respects, it's really nice that the wind can be this strong and the water stays very row-able," said Britain's John Collins, 32, who advanced to Sunday's double sculls semi-final after finishing fifth in 2016. "It's been a little bit of a shock to the system, it's always a difficult one with getting the air conditioning right back in the room," said Collins' teammate Graeme Thomas, 32. You can get a little bit light-headed going from the cold to the hot." Britain's attempt at topping the medal table for a fourth consecutive Olympics got off to a solid start as Rio double sculls silver medallist Victoria Thornley clinched her heat, advancing to the quarter-finals. "It's obviously hot but I felt cool on the start line, which is good," the two-time Olympian said after the race.

Source: The Star July 23, 2021 06:45 UTC