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August 15, 2004 12:34 pm

Wind hinders men's quadruple scullers

By Gannett News Service

SCHINIAS, Greece -- Kent Smack, whose hometown is Clinton, N.J., and Brett Wilkinson of Lawrenceville, N.J., finished fourth in their heat of the men's quadruple sculls Sunday at the Olympic Regatta in Schinias, about 25 miles from Athens near the Aegean Sea.

Smack said a crosswind with a slight tailwind made for challenging conditions. ``We were at the far side of where the wind was coming from, so we were getting the brunt of it as it came across the course,'' he said. ``Toward the second half of the piece, we had more of a tailwind, but it was still quite wakey and rough.''

Brett Wilkinson said the U.S. team practiced in Bulgaria in a bit of a tailwind the week before coming to Greece. ``But it wasn't nearly like this,'' he said.

Later in the day, race officials announced that there will be no racing Monday due to strong winds expected to make the course unrowable.

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