Rowing Australia review, worst performance since Seoul 1988

There was a shared feeling of heartache at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on the final day of competition for Australia's rowers as the national team cemented its worst campaign at an Olympic Games since Seoul 1988.

For a nation with such a strong Olympic history in rowing, the Paris 2024 regatta produced a medal yield of just a single bronze in the women's coxless pair final.

In response, Rowing Australia has announced that an external review of its high-performance program has already commenced.

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Australia's men's eight team reacts after coming in last in the final at Paris 2024. Naomi Baker via Getty Images

In a statement, performance director Paul Thompson said the body would "leave no stone unturned" as it probes its training program, taper practices, selection process and overall strategy.

Speaking from the venue on Saturday night (AEST), Nine reporter Alison Piotrowski labelled Paris 2024, "an unmitigated disaster for our national rowing team".

Earlier in the session, Tara Rigney was denied a medal in the women's single sculls final after finishing just 0.53 seconds behind Lithuania's Viktorija Senkute.

Rigney was considered a strong medal contender and was placed third until the last 100 metres before being pipped by Senkute at the line.

Speaking afterwards, an emotional Rigney was bitterly disappointed to not be bringing an Olympic medal home.

Watch every moment, every medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event streaming ad free, live and on demand with 4K on Stan Sport.

"I feel like I probably have to spend some time processing [this]," she told Nine.

"This is definitely not the end for me. I really want one of those Olympic medals. It's been my dream so onto the next."

Australia's women's and men's eight rowing teams also missed out on medals in their respective finals.

The women's eight finished fourth while the men — who were touted as a top medal hope in the lead-up to the Games — were sixth.

The team announced a last-minute change to its lineup with Josh Hicks replaced by Tim Masters after coming down with gastroenteritis

The makeup of the team had been an experiment with three members of the nation's gold medal-winning fours team from Tokyo 2020 switching sweep crews this year to stack the eight.

But the selection gamble did not pay off as the Australian men's four failed to defend its Olympic title from Tokyo while the eight floundered at the back of the field.

Having never won an Olympic gold medal in the blue riband event, Rowing Australia elected to target the title in Paris by stacking the boat as its male "priority".

Now, Rowing Australia's decision to put all its eggs in one basket in the pursuit of an elusive Olympic title has put the national body under the microscope.

Fronting media, eights oarsman Angus Dawson choked back tears.

"To fall that short, sorry, you cannot help but feel a bit disappointed in yourself," he said.

Three years ago at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games, Australia's rowers equalled their best gold-medal haul at an Olympic Games with two gold medals and two bronze medals.

At Seoul 1988, Australia's rowers failed to achieve a podium.

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