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Rio de Janeiro - South Africa's rowers were off to a solid start at the Rio Olympics on Saturday.
Competing in the men's pairs, Lawrence Brittain and Shaun Keeling finished second to Australia in the first heat of the day behind Australia.
The South Africans finished just 0.63 seconds behind the Aussies, but their efforts were more than enough to book a place in Tuesday's semi-finals.
Brittain was pleased with the result, but did say that conditions had not made things any easier.
"It was ok. It was very rough out there," he said.
"We don't really race in conditions like that very often. Especially through the middle of the race.
"It's very choppy but when the Olympics come you have got to be the best on the day. It's a very good start for us. It's been quite a ride getting here."
Lloyd Burnard is Sport24's correspondent in Rio de Janeiro for the duration of the 2016 Olympics ...
