Breaststroke specialist Kosuke Kitajima's chance to nab an unprecedented triple-double at the Olympics has ended.
The usual blend of tremendous technique and superb closing speed — unmatched skills that carried him to the top in the Athens Games in 2004 and continued in Beijing four years ago — just wasn't there, and he wasn't fast enough in Sunday's 100-meter breaststroke final at the Aquatics Centre.
Swimming in lane seven, he reached the race's midway point in 27.78 seconds (fifth-fastest of the eight participants) and that's where he finished.