BRYAN Nickson Lomas' elimination in the preliminary round of the men's 10m platform on Friday brought Malaysia's London Olympics campaign to a premature end.
The high of Thursday, where Pandelela Rinong won the women's 10m platform bronze had Malaysians hoping that Bryan could, at the very least, qualify for the final but the 22-year-old failed to advance to the semi-final after finishing 19th. Only the top 18 went to yesterday's semi-final with the top 12 then qualifying for the final, scheduled for late yesterday.
Bryan was left disappointed, having also failed to make an impact in the 10m platform synchro final where he and Huang Qiang finished sixth despite being touted as potential medallists.
Chef-de-mission Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid was philosophical about Bryan's early exit.
"He was up against a high quality field and Bryan tried but it was not to be. It is sad that Malaysia's campaign ended on this note but there are so many things that we can be proud of from these Olympics," said Ahmad Sarji.
Bryan scored 434.95, missing out the 18th spot to American David Boudia, who scored 439.15.
Appearing in his third Olympics, Bryan's problems began when he got his third dive wrong which resulted in a low score of 29.70, which came as a shock after he had opened with scores of 81.60 and 68.45.
The third dive saw him drop to 25th in the 32-diver field but despite a valiant effort to claw his way back with scores of 74.25, 96.35 and 84.60, Bryan had to concede defeat.
Although it was a disappointing end to the nation's Olympics campaign, Pandelela's bronze is something the diving squad can be proud of as it showed that with the right attitude and commitment, Malaysian athletes can scale greater heights.
Pandelela broke through the barrier in London and the onus is now on the other divers to ensure they continue to improve and give Malaysia more options when it comes to the Olympics.
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