AN EMOTIONAL NATALYA Coyle has spoken of her heartbreak after finishing 24th in the modern pentathlon at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Meath native was in contention to medal going into the equestrian event today, sitting fourth after impressive displays in the fencing and swimming.
However, her horse Constantin refused a number of fences, leaving Coyle 19th with a score of 234 points out of a possible 300.
She then finished the run/shoot in 13:08.51 to end with an overall score of 1268 points.
The Paris Olympics may be just three years but Coyle suggested that she won’t be looking to make a fourth appearance at the Games.
“It’s just really upsetting because I came here to do a lot better,” Coyle told RTÉ Sport.
“After the fencing, I really thought I was in with a shout. I watched the girl go around before me and she hadn’t got through the trebles so I knew it was going to be trouble but I thought I might be able to handle it but obviously not.
“I thought I came in with a good plan but I know one of the fences was definitely my fault, number four, and I thought I gave enough encouragement but obviously not.
“It’s hard when you’re really close and then it’s snatched away from you.
“Look, it’s not the way I wanted to finish out my career but hopefully I can look back in a day or two and be happy with at least coming third in the fencing.”
She added: “I always remember from my first Games, my dad saying you can train as hard as you want but you never know with the horse. It’s a lottery and in two Games I’ve been lucky, but on the third not so much.
I’m really proud that I’ve gone to three Games but it’s not how I wanted to end things at all.
“Hopefully we can watch Kellie [Harrington] go on and win a gold as well, which will be really nice to see out the Games.”
Watch the full interview here:
'It's not the way I wanted to finish out my career' - @Natalyacoyle incredibly disappointed with how the showjumping transpired #Tokyo2020 #RTESport #modernpentathlon #RTESport
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 6, 2021
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