Greg Rutherford beaten into third in final of Olympic Games long jump
By Andy Charles
Last Updated: 14/08/16 8:56am
Great Britain's Greg Rutherford lost his grip on the Olympic Games long jump title and had to settle for a bronze medal in a thrilling competition in Rio.
Rutherford briefly led just before the halfway stage but faced missing out on the medals until leaping out to 8.29m in the final round.
The now former Olympic and current World, Commonwealth and European champion showed none of the issues that plagued him in qualifying with a jump of 8.18m in the opening round.
Eventual champion Jeff Henderson of the United States passed him by a couple of centimetres and his compatriot Jarrion Lawson hit the front with a jump of 8.25m in the third round, just after Rutherford had regained the lead.
South Africa's Luvo Manyonga continued the rollercoaster nature of the competition by jumping 8.28m to take top spot and then extended that lead in the fifth round with a superb leap of 8.37m.
Henderson went on to eclipse that mark by a single centimetre before Rutherford's final leap, which looked like challenging the lead but was measured at 8.29m and only enough for third.
Lawson had one more jump left and, just to add to the excitement, looked as if he had jumped to gold, only for replays to show his hand had caught the sand at a much shorter distance, leaving him frustrated at finishing fourth.
"I never thought in my career I would be disappointed with bronze, but I'm gutted," said Rutherford.
"It's frustrating when you come out of something and you don't feel you've done yourself justice."
Rutherford's emotional response lasted deep into the night, as he underlined his desire to achieve better results in the future.
He wrote on Twitter from Rio in the early hours: "Morning to everyone back home. I'm still awake (4:30am) I truly cannot thank you all enough for the amazing messages of support.
"I'm really disappointed with today and that may sound mad to some, but I wanted this so bad and gave everything to try and win.
"When your best isn't good enough it hurts and I want to rectify what's happened. Thank you again for the love. It means so much."
