Canadian hurdler Perdita Felicien was left watch to watch helplessly as her opponents ran the 100 metre final on Tuesday, when her race was brought to an abrupt and premature end.
Dashing Canada's hopes of winning its second gold medal of the day, Felicien's leading foot struck the very first hurdle, sending her hurtling into the lane of Russian Irina Shevchenko.
Neither runner finished the race.
In an interview immediately afterwards, Felicien said she couldn't explain what happened.
Telling CBC's Scott Oake that the race was her "worst nightmare come true," the gold-medal favourite offered an apology to everyone cheering for her back home in Canada.
"I'm sorry I let you down," she said.
At her family home in Pickering, Ontario, a jubilant crowd had gathered to watch the race. But when Felicien crashed into that first hurdle, their screams of support were quickly silenced.
Reporting from a downtown Toronto square where hundreds gathered to watch the race on open-air screens, CTV reporter Paul Bliss said reaction to the fall was the same.
"Oddly enough, no one moved," he said. "They stood or sat where they were -- frozen as they tried to digest the Olympian let-down."
No matter the result, Felicien's mother says she's still proud of her daughter -- who remains the reigning world outdoor champion -- and is already looking forward to keeping the Olympic dream alive for another four years.
"It is not over until it's over," Kathy said, surrounded by a crowd of family, friends and neighbours. "By the year 2008, Perdita will be stronger and she'll be older and she'll be able to focus more and bring home the gold to us."
In her post-race interview, Felicien said she's already thinking about it, as she vowed to be in Beijing "with bells on."
Protest filed
Because the fall also brought Shevchenko's race to a premature end, the Russian Olympic Federation has filed a formal protest.
Although there is no precedent for running a race again in such circumstances, the medal ceremony has been delayed until Sunday.
Felicien, 23, has long been considered one of Canada's top medal hopes in Athens. She recorded the fastest time in the world this year at 12.46 seconds, and went into the games riding a string of five straight victories.
Winning the gold medal in the 100-metre event Tuesday, U.S. hurdler Joanna Hayes edged Felicien's best time, however, crossing the finish line in an Olympic-record 12.37 seconds.
Ukrainian Olena Krasovska was second with a time of 12.45 seconds, and American Melissa Morrison took bronze with a time of 12.56 seconds.
Also participating in the race was Canada's Angela Whyte, who finished sixth with a time of 12.81. She ran a personal best time of 12.69 in the second heat to qualify for the final.
Felicien is not the only hurdler to face disappointment in this competition.
American Gail Devers couldn't finish her semifinal heat because of a calf injury that saw her out of the race before clearing the first hurdle.
Jamaican hurdler Brigitte Foster, who is ranked sixth in the world, also pulled a calf muscle in the warmup before her semifinal race.
Foster's teammate Delloreen Ennis-London, the fourth fastest in the world, finished fifth in her heat and did not advance.
Canadians win silver and gold
Elsewhere in Athens, Canada's Olympians gave fans back home other reasons to cheer.
Racing her bike to victory in the sprint final, 38-year-old Edmonton native Lori-Ann Muenzer beat Russian Tamilla Abassova to claim Canada's first-ever Olympic cycling gold.
Muenzer also now holds the distinction of being the only Canadian woman to ever win an Olympic track cycling medal.
And in the pool, a 19-year-old from Laval, Quebec became the first Canadian male to win an Olympic diving medal.
Despite blowing the third dive of the finals, Alexandre Despatie managed to snag silver in the Olympic three-metre springboard event.
His 755.97 points were enough to edge Russian diver Dmitri Sautin's 753.27, but fell short of the convincing 787.38 China's Peng Bo scored to win gold.
