The Olympic dream is over for Braden Currie, but the qualifying door remains ajar for another Otago athlete.
Wanaka triathlete Currie (29), who turned his attention to on-road competition in November last year in a bid to qualify for this year's Rio Olympics, needed two top-eight finishes on the world circuit to stamp his ticket to the Games.
But Currie, who had already said he might have left his ambitious run too late, bombed out of last weekend's Gold Coast event, recording his first DNF after coming last in the 1.5km swim.
He made it about 5km into the 40km bike before realising his effort in chasing the pack was futile.
Currie could not be reached for comment yesterday but his wife, Sally Currie, told the Otago Daily Times he was crushed by the result.
‘‘He knows he's a lot more capable that that, but it's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.
‘‘He worked as hard as he could [on the bike] to try and catch someone but he couldn't catch anyone.
‘‘It was his last chance [to qualify].
‘‘Triathlon is pretty ruthless. If you're not at least in the middle of the pack in the swim, it's over.''
In pulling out of the race, eventually won by Great Britain's Jonathan Brownlee, Currie had thought, ‘‘I'm done. I've given it everything and I'm not good enough'', she said.
He had worked hard on all elements but his preparation was hampered when he became sick two weeks ago and could not swim, she said.
‘‘At this level, there's just no room not to be on form.
‘‘The times they're doing are just incredible.''
Currie had taken the result hard and had decided not to push for selection in future qualifying events, she said.
He finished 44th in a World Cup event in Mooloolaba on March 12 and 11th in the Oceania Championships in Gisborne a week later.
‘‘He's pretty crushed by it, but he's also really stoked in how much he's developed as an athlete.''
The three-time Coast to Coast champion would now turn his attention back to off-road competition, she said.
He is due to compete in the Rotorua cross-triathlon event this weekend and the Asia Pacific Championships in Callala Beach, near Sydney, next weekend.
‘‘All the work he's put in will really pay off.''
Meanwhile, fellow Wanaka triathlete Nicky Samuels finished 20th of 65 competitors in the women's event on the Gold Coast.
Samuels was on the road back from a long injury lay-off last year and was ‘‘clearly on the radar'' for Olympic selection, Triathlon New Zealand high performance director Graeme Maw said.
The selection window stretched back to Samuels' bronze medal effort in the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Edmonton in 2014 and finished with the Yokohama event in mid-May.
Before her injury, Samuels also claimed bronze in the ITU World Triathlon in Stockholm, a week before Edmonton, and it was that sort of form which gave the selection panel an indication of her capabilities, Maw said.
Two medal performances in the selection window guaranteed Olympic selection, while two top-eight finishes meant probable selection, he said.
Samuels will compete in the Cape Town event on April 24 but was not planning on competing in Yokohama.
The Gold Coast event was won by Great Britain's Helen Jenkins and New Zealander Andrea Hewitt claimed third.
