Argentine rowers bridge the distance for London

BUENOS AIRES - Ariel Suarez trains in Buenos Aires and Cristian Rosso 400 kilometres away in Mar del Plata but the Argentine rowers hope hard work and a helping hand from their French rivals will overcome the difficulties of training apart and let them shine at the London Olympics.

The Argentine duo have had to find a way to make their partnership work after teaming up two years ago. The Pan-American double sculls champions hope to do their country proud in London among a group of nations fighting it out behind the medal favourites.

Suarez and Rosso said their cause was helped by a productive training spell with the French team.

"We trained with the French national team and they told us we had a bright future, that the boat looked good but we had to iron out some issue we couldn't see here in Argentina," Suarez told Reuters in an interview.

"We improved a lot in technique, they gave us a lot of confidence. Physically we weren't able to improve much," he said at the national rowing centre in the suburb of Tigre in the delta of the Parana river.

"They showed us how they work ... The change was so big it was like a different sport, another way of rowing," said the 32-year-old, who has been competing since 2000.