The Austrilian men's quad set the world best time at the Beijing Games in the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park on Sunday, the second day of the rowing competition.

The combination of Chris Morgan, James Mcrae, Brendan Long, and Daniel Noonan finished heat one in 5 minutes, 36.20 seconds, beating former world best of 5:37.31 posted by three-time world champions Polish rival in Poznan, Poland, in 2006.

The Austrilians led in the first 1,000m, but they were surpassed by Italian crew at the 1,500m mark before winning the neck-to-neck race. The Italians finished second with a time of 5:36.42.

"It just felt so good out there. If it is the world's fastest time, then that's a bonus," Morgan told reporters after the race. "It's an ideal start to the competition, although it's pretty wide open. We want to get a few runs on the board."

"Our aim was just to make the final, and get a medal from there," said Noonan.

Polish crew of Konrad Wasielewski, Marek Kolbowicz, Michal Jelinski and Adam Korol, the former world best time setter, won heat two in 5:38.76. The Ukrainian combination won heat three in 5:40.11. The first three finishers in each heat earned slots for semifinals for qualifications for final A and B.

The men's quadruple sculls racing finished just before the heats of women's and men's eight were postponed until further notice due to lightning and rainstorm.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2008)