BARCELONA ’92 OLYMPICS / DAY 9 : Australia Beats U.S. in Fours

America’s best hope for a men’s rowing gold medal was quashed Sunday by Australia’s “Awesome Foursome.”

The Australians avenged a loss to the United States last month by winning the men’s fours without coxswain event in 5 minutes 55.04 seconds.

The U.S. team of Doug Burden of Pawlet, Vt.; Jeff McLaughlin of Warwick, R.I.; Thomas Bohrer of Babylon, N.Y., and Patrick Manning of Hyde Park, N.Y., won the silver in 5:56.68. Slovenia was third with 5:58.24.

It was Bohrer’s second consecutive silver medal. This one was a disappointment.

“There was more pressure on us to perform, and so we all spent a lot of time thinking and rethinking and that takes energy,” he said.

Other crew members wanted to win for Bohrer.

“During the last 200, I kept thinking, ‘Pull for Tom, pull for Tom,’ ” McLaughlin said. “The gold medal was what we all were after.

“Afterward, you ask yourself what if this and what if that, but there are no what ifs. There’s just a race where we did the best we could.”

U.S. Coach Ted Nash, a member of the winning U.S. team in the same event at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, was impressed with Australia’s time, which was 31 seconds better than his gold-medal performance.

“A 5:56 with no (wind) help--pretty amazing,” Nash said.

With boats in nine of the 14 finals, the United States won two silvers and a bronze in the men’s and women’s fours without coxswain and the women’s pairs.

Canada picked up rowing victories in the prestigious men’s and women’s eight races Sunday, adding to two golds it won on Saturday.

“It’s the greatest day in rowing history,” said Mike Murphy, Canada’s rowing federation president.

United States was fourth in the men’s eights and sixth in the women’s eights.

Rowing Medalists

* (Men’s pairs with coxswain) GOLD Britain SILVER Italy BRONZE Romania

* (Men’s fours without coxswain) GOLD Australia SILVER United States BRONZE Slovenia

* (Men’s quadruple sculls) GOLD Germany SILVER Norway BRONZE Italy

* (Men’s eight with coxswain) GOLD Canada SILVER Romania BRONZE Germany

* (Women’s single sculls) GOLD Elisabeta Lipa (Romania) SILVER Annelies Bredael (Belgium) BRONZE Silken Laumann (Canada)

* (Women’s quadruple sculls) GOLD Germany SILVER Romania BRONZE CIS

* (Women’s eight with coxswain) GOLD Canada SILVER Romania BRONZE Germany