From Collin Matiza  in LONDON
Zimbabwean rowers Micheen Thornycroft and James Fraser-Mackenzie yesterday met with mixed fortunes in the qualifying heats of the single sculls competition on the opening day of the rowing events at this year’s Olympic Games.

Yesterday saw Thornycroft and Fraser-Mackenzie making their debut appearance at the world's biggest sporting gala and the former stole the limelight from the latter when she qualified for the quarter-finals of the women’s single sculls event.

After Fraser-Mackenzie had earlier failed to reach the quarter-finals of the men’s single sculls competition at Eton Dorney, some 40 miles outside London, Thornycroft showed her fellow teammate how its done when she pulled her boat into the last eight of the women’s single sculls.

The 25-year-old Thornycroft, who prior to her arrival at the London Games indicated that her dream was to make the top 12 in the women's single sculls at these Games, moved an inch closer to achieving this feat when she took a credible third place in Heat Two of the qualifying rounds yesterday.

Thornycroft surprised all and sundry at Eton Dorney yesterday when she pushed herself courageously to finish in third place behind Australia's Kim Crow and Nataliya Mustafayeva of Azerbaijan in a good time of 7:47.10.
Crow took the first place in 7:41.18 while Mustafayeva settled for second place in 7:46.01.