Di Clemente and Keeling put their effort in over the next quarter to go through half way in fourth ahead of Germany, but it had been too much too soon and they were unable to hold off a resurgent German crew in the final 100 metres.






The crews were separated by only 0.43 seconds on the line.

Australia overhauled Canada at 1200 metres to take the gold in 6:37.44, with New Zealand holding the bronze position for the whole race.

"Its always been an amazing experience for me. Last year I was at the under 23 level and this year I jumped into senior level with Ramon and we went from a C Final (13 to 18 place) at Munich to fifth in the A Final in the Olympics," said Keeling who was unable to row the boat back from the semifinal due to the effort he put into the race.

"For me its just a major achievement to be up there racing with the best in the world. I'm just disappointed that we never got a medal, for as much as they are the best in the world, we want to be better."

The combination only got together this year, initially with Di Clemente in the rear, but their improvement since the Athens bronze medal winner's move into stroke has been phenomenal and bodes well for the future.

"It's been pushing and squeezing every day to try and get up to speed in six months. I think this last race was just a bit too much for us.

"There's been anxiety and nerves every day to get up there because we have to improve, that's not a normal training environment and it took a lot out of us, but we've been up to the challenge," said Di Clemente who belives they can build on this combination for at least two more Olympics.

"We've had a great regatta and really tried our utmost to stick with the best, but its been a huge accomplishment to be in the final. You're sitting with the best in the world and everyone aspires to be at the Olympics, especially in the sport of rowing, it's the only thing we've got - that's what we strive for." - Sapa