Dai Greene's bid for Olympic gold ended in disappointment as he had to settle for an agonising fourth place in the 400 metre hurdles final.
The Welshman, the world champion, was never in the race running from lane three and, although he finished strongly, was not able to make up the ground he lost in the first half of the race. He finished in 48.24 seconds, 0.14secs off a medal
Felix Sanchez, the 34-year-old from the Dominican Republic, took gold eight years after winning the title in 2004 in 47.63s. American Michael Tinsley took the silver in 47.91, a personal best, while favourite Javier Culson of Puerto Rico was third.
Victory was always going to be a tall order for Britain's athletics team captain after he only scrapped into the final as a fastest loser. The 26-year-old admitted he had been disgusted with his semi-final showing, saying he was determined to make amends in the final, and at least produced a better run.
His season has not gone smoothly, with knee surgery in the winter and then a virus hampering his preparation.
Greene told BBC1: "I just felt a bit tired. Obviously it was a big shock in the semi-final - I was surprised everyone went that fast. I gave it everything I had. A bit better structure to my race but I was just a bit too tired at the end there and narrowly missed out."
On the injuries which troubled him over the winter, he said: "It certainly affected my build-up - it meant I couldn't start until halfway through January instead of October time, but I I can't argue too much, I had a personal best a few weeks ago.
"I just think perhaps the endurance wasn't quite there for the rounds which shows I missed some of the winter work. You can't always tell if it's there or not until you get into these majors. I was just found wanting a bit at the end but I couldn't have given anything else."
Greene was surprised by the pace his rivals produced throughout the event.
He said: "I know coming in that me and Culson were way ahead in the rankings, but I've never been in a competition or a race before where people have gone far above their expectation until Saturday night, when everyone seemed to surprise me. It sort of felt slightly [like that] again - a few of the guys really pulled something out."