Tom Walsh and Jacko Gill in the shot put final. Photo: Iain McGregor/Photosport
One by one, they appeared in the mixed zone in tears. A procession of despair, disappointment and shattered dreams.
At the same stadium where only days ago the Black Ferns Sevens team leapt, danced, cheered and wept tears of joy after defending their Olympic title, New Zealand's track and field athletes were experiencing the flipside of sport on the first night of finals in Paris.
It started with hope. The evening had shaped up as a history-making night at the Stade de France for Athletics NZ.
There was palpable excitement about the chances of sprinter Zoe Hobbs pulling off something special on the iconic purple track and becoming the first Kiwi in a century to make an Olympic final in the 100m sprint.
But Hobbs could not find that additional edge she felt she had after yesterday's heats, her hopes dashed in the space of a 100m dash.
The Taranaki sprinter could only manage sixth in her semifinal, recording a time of 11.13 seconds - 0.18 seconds off her personal best. What stung the most, said Hobbs, was not executing to the best of her ability.
"I think if it was a good time, I could have accepted not making the final. But just knowing that it was 11.07 that progressed and I was there or thereabouts yesterday. It's just disappointing," Hobbs said, fighting back tears.
"I let it slip through my fingers."
Seconds after Hobbs' name popped up on the big screen without a yellow 'Q' next to her name, down the other end of the stadium, shot putter Tom Walsh roared in pain.
In his second throw of the night he aggravated a groin injury he's struggled with on and off in the lead-up. Walsh, seeking a third Olympic medal in Paris after bronze in Tokyo and Rio, went on to complete his third throw, but was clearly injured and failed to make the cut-off to the second round.
Earlier, middle distance runner Sam Tanner bowed out in the men's 1500m after failing to advance through the repechage with another disappointing showing.
New Zealand Rowing had its hour of power at these Games, when it won three Olympic medals in a magic 60 minutes. Athletics had its 30 minutes of misery.
The only bright spot was Jacko Gill, who managed to push aside the emotion of seeing Walsh leave the arena injured, and complete a good series of throws for a sixth place finish in shot put.
It was always going to be a tough ask for Walsh to challenge the two American giants of the sport Ryan Crouser, the world record holder, and Joe Kovacs, who went on to claim gold and silver respectively.
But he did not want to go down like this.
"It's gutting," an emotional Walsh said as the final continued to play on the television behind him in the mixed zone.
"It's been an injury that has been there, but has allowed me to train and has been getting gradually better and we did a great job to get me here in a healthy shape that would allow me to throw a long way... and then in the second round it just blew to bits."
Hobbs on the other hand felt strong and confident heading into the semifinals of the glamour event on the track.
Racing in the last of three semifinals of the evening, the assignment facing Hobbs suddenly went from gargantuan to eminently achievable after the first two semifinals failed to deliver the expected fireworks.
The field also lost a significant amount of star power with the withdrawal of sprint great, and friend of the Black Ferns, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce - part of a Jamaican podium clean sweep in the event in Tokyo.
Hobbs needed to finish in the top four in her heat and run under 11.07 to advance to the final. Her personal best is 10.96.
"I just didn't execute a good race. I think I let it go from the get-go. My reaction wasn't great and over the first 10 I was already behind, and I let it slip through my fingers, and that's just the reality of the 100m sometimes.
"You have to put together a perfect race, especially to make an Olympic final. I'm just really disappointed."
The Kiwi athletics star has already made history in Paris. Not since 1976, when Sue Jowett contested the 100m and 200m events at the Montreal Olympics, has there been a Kiwi in a women's sprint event at the Olympic Games.
Hell, it has been 16 years since there has even been a black singlet in the sprints an Olympics.
But in the bowels of the Stade de France, Hobbs' mind could only turn to recent history and missed opportunities.
