ATHENS (Kyodo) The tears said it all.
Masami Tanaka suffered more Olympic heartbreak Thursday when she missed out on a medal by 0.05 of a second and finished fourth in the women's 200-meter breaststroke at the Athens Games.
After finishing fifth in the 1996 Atlanta Games and seventh in Sydney four years ago, the 25-year-old former world record holder was determined to make it third time lucky in Athens, but saw the bronze slip from her grasp and into the hands of Germany's Anne Poleska.
World record holder Amanda Beard of the United States took the gold at the Olympic Aquatic Centre in 2 minutes, 23.37 seconds, with Australian Leisel Jones following second in 2:23.60. Poleska clocked 2:25.82.
"It's so disappointing that it was a matter of 0.0-something of a second," a tearful Tanaka said after the race.
"Honestly speaking, I didn't think I'd make it this far and this result means far more to me than a medal," added Tanaka, who is competing in her final Olympics.
"I gave it everything I had and now I want to take it easy for a while."