Australian BMX rider Caroline Buchanan has crashed out of the semi finals in Rio

FEW athletes who struggled in London were more obsessed about getting it right this time. Caroline Buchanan drove herself all the way to Rio and, finally, a touch too hard when everything was on the line.

Caroline Buchanan crashes and is out of the competition on Finals day of the Rio Olympics 2016 BMX event at the Olympic BMX Centre. Picture: Adam Head

WHEN she missed a medal at the London Olympics Caroline Buchanan said the pain was worse than the day her house burnt down.

Yesterday she found something that hurt even more than having to rush from her burning Canberra home with her bikes in hand and her London failure put together.

It was a shattering, self-inflicted fall which wrecked her bid for gold medal redemption in the Olympic BMX competition.

Few athletes who struggled in London were more obsessed about getting it right this time.

She drove herself all the way to Rio and, finally, a touch too hard when everything was on the line.

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Caroline Buchanan crashes out. Picture: Adam Head

After only having to beat one rider home in the semi-final to qualify for the final she pushed herself too hard into the bottom of a ramp.

The bike encountered some resistance, her legs buckled and handlebars shifted forward and she fell soon after. Four years of sweat turned to sawdust in six seconds.

The instant agony was impossible to hide. Immediately after cruising over the line at snails pace she had to make what must have felt like the longest walk of her career past a 30m line of assembled journalists, tears visible under her helmet.

She then went and sat in a restricted area behind the finish line, put her hands over her face and shed more. She was soon comforted by her mother Gail, who appeared for the cuddle that all beaten Olympic hopefuls need.

It took her an hour to face the media and by then her famous competitive instincts were trying to stir amid the numbness.

“That’s BMX ... here we are again,’’ she said with a giggle but soon tears welled.

“Everyone knows this is a brutal sport. There are no white lines. There are no guarantees.

“I can leave with my head held high that I am a champion. Right now it feels like a repeat of London but it is a different story.

“I had the opportunity to be a medallist and I did not believe in myself and I got to that Olympic final and fell apart and did not bring it.

“I knew as soon as I felt my legs buckle and my handlebars moved forward the show was over from that point.’’

Shattered. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Much to the delight of thousands of Colombian fans, hot favourite Mariana Pajon led all the way in the final.

Soon after the win she stood with her bike raised triumphantly above her head in triumph while a fallen competitor was carried off on a stretcher beside her. It was an image which summed up the ferocity of the sport where no excuse matters and you never look down or back.

“I am fighter,’’ Buchanan said later.

“I have come back from London and I will come back again. After London I did not have the opportunity. I got the opportunity and that is all that matters.

“I don’t blame anyone for today but from here these is a super strong message to all of the girls. I bounced back from London and that adversity. I have won world titles since then.’’

Mentally Buchanan was already back on the bike. But the journey to where she wants to be remained as far away as ever.

Originally published as Australian BMX rider Caroline Buchanan has crashed out of the semi finals in Rio