RIO DE JANEIRO (REUTERS) - The Olympic rowing regatta was called off on Wednesday, as rain and winds lashed the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon.

"No racing will take place today," a media officer announced.

The organisers and team managers were meeting to discuss a revised schedule for Thursday.

The first of the rowing finals, the women's quadruple sculls and the men's quadruple sculls, had been due to be contested on Wednesday.

The rowing competition has been dogged by bad weather. Races on Sunday were postponed for a day when winds roiled the waters of the lagoon.

Mist shrouded the mountains that flank the lagoon on Wednesday morning and rain fell steadily as winds again whipped up the water.