Updated 00.05
COUNTY MEATH’S NATALYA Coyle has finished in seventh place in the women’s modern pentathlon, bettering her ninth-place performance from London 2012.
Earlier in the day, Coyle posted a new personal best of 2:17.38 in the swimming event and had a faultless round in the showjumping to give her a chance of claiming Ireland’s third medal of Rio 2016.
Those performances left the 25-year-old entering the final event in sixth place, just 15 seconds behind third place.
But it was not meant to be for the former Trinity College student as she failed to claw back the the time required in the combined run/shoot finale.
“I’m delighted. I gave it everything,” Coyle said after another top-10 Olympic finish.
“That was the main thing, to try to come out today and get personal bests across each sport, and to come out at the end of the day and have done as much as I could.
I couldn’t have (done any more). That last lap was painful but I wasn’t going to let the Italian girl catch me.
“Two places better than London, I can’t ask for more than that.”
Australia’s Chloe Esposito claimed the gold medal, jumping from fourth place to overtake Poland’s Oktaiwia Nowacka.
– Additional reporting by Niall Kelly
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