Narrow medal miss, gastro blow headline brutal day for Aussie rowers

Australia's Tara Rigney has just fallen short of a medal in the women's single sculls final, finishing just 0.53 seconds behind Lithuania's Viktorija Senkute.

Rigney was considered a strong medal contender but couldn't match the dominance of Dutch world champion Karolien Florijn, who led the race from start to finish.

The loss marked a disappointing turn of events for the Australian rowers, with both the women's and men's eight rowing teams also missing out on medals.

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Rigney, who is a world champion medallist, was aiming to become the second Australian woman to win a medal in the event.

She sat in third at every marker, but couldn't hold onto her place in the final few metres of the race.

The Western Australian looked disappointed after crossing the line.

New Zealand's Emma Twigg came in second, ahead of Senkute, who won Lithuania's first-ever rowing medal.

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The women's eight rowing final concluded in a similar way, with the Australian team finishing in fourth after an impressive performance by Romania.

Meanwhile, Gold Britain claimed the gold in the men's eight rowing final after a fierce battle with the Netherlands, who secured silver. The American crew took home bronze.

The Australian team, which had been considered a top medal hope in the lead-up the Games, finished in sixth place after Josh Hicks had to withdraw due to contracting gastro.

That disappointing result marks the Aussies' worst Olympic regatta since 1988.