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Hartley in tears after missing Rio final

Rio de Janeiro - It's the end of the road for Bridgitte Hartley at Rio 2016. 

The London 2012 bronze medallist finished 5th in her 500m sprint semi-final at Lagoa Stadium on Wednesday, missing out on qualification for Thursday's A-final. 

Instead, Hartley will line up in the B-final with no chance of repeating her medal heroics from London four years ago.

"I always knew this was going to be one of the toughest races of my career, purely also because of the pressure from London," Hartley said once she had composed herself. 

"There everything just came together ... I don't know how, but it did." 

It won't be easy, but Hartley must now pick herself up for one last push in the B-final,.

"It's always tough. I've been here before at many World Champs," she said.

"I'll sleep on it. I'm definitely disappointed. I always know that in this 500m event there are at least 15 girls who can be in the A-final.

"To get to an Olympics is flipping hard."

Lloyd Burnard is Sport24's correspondent in Rio de Janeiro for the duration of the 2016 Olympics ...

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