Great Britain track cyclist Victoria Pendleton has apologised to her teammate Jess Varnish and the British Olympic fans for causing the duo to be disqualified from the women's team sprint final.
The pair were in contention for gold alongside China after securing a time of 32.567s in the first round but were subsequently relegated after Pendleton committed the change-over too early.
"I'm desperately disappointed for Jess Varnish because she has done an incredible job in getting this far," Pendleton told BBC Sport.
"Her team sprint today was the best of her life so far. I've no doubt she will be back in Rio and absolutely smashing it.
"I'm sorry for disappointing all the people that have come to support us and perhaps not offering the ride that we would have done. I'm really sorry."
China will now take on Germany for gold, while Australia will compete against Ukraine for a bronze medal.
