Thursday is a day of semi-finals for South African rowers‚ with four teams competing for a chance to add a third Olympic medal to the country’s tally at Rio 2016.

James Thompson and John Smith will be competing in the men’s lightweight double sculls semi-final after finishing first in their heat and first overall in the standings.

 Both of them won gold with the lightweight coxless four at the London 2012 games‚ and will have high hopes of winning another medal if they make it through to Friday’s final.

The women’s coxless pair of Lee-Ann Persse and Kate Christowitz ranked fifth after their heat‚ but will have to squeeze into the top three in their semi-final against Romania‚ Great Britain‚ United States‚ Poland‚ and Italy to reach Friday’s final.

Also in action are Ursula Grobler and Kirsten McCann in the lightweight double sculls‚ who won their heat to rank fourth overall.

 China‚ New Zealand‚ and the Netherlands are among their strongest opposition as they too look for a top-three finish to earn their shot at a medal.

The men’s coxless four team of Vincent Breet‚ Jake Green‚ Jonathan Smith‚ and David Hunt earned their place in the semi-final thanks to a much-improved showing in their repechage‚ finishing first after narrowly missing out on qualification in their heat.