Rio 2016: Kieran Behan’s dream over

27-year-old suffers dislocated knee at end of final routine after bad landing during floor exercise

Kieran Behan failed to make it through artistic gymnastic qualification despite a valiant performance in Rio. Photograph: Getty
Kieran Behan failed to make it through artistic gymnastic qualification despite a valiant performance in Rio. Photograph: Getty

Kieran Behan’s Olympic journey is over after he failed to make it through the artistic gymnastics qualifiers, suffering a dislocated knee during his final routine on the floor.

Behan delivered a mixed but determined performance as he finished on 83.232 points and in 38th position - with 28th spot ultimately needed to progress.

Qualification began with the pommel horse and Behan opened with a score of 12.866 after a neat routine in one of his least favoured disciplines.

Next up came the rings and Behan produced a very competitive score of 14.133, before being given 14.300 on the vault.

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At this stage Behan was firmly in the mix, and looking on course to threaten the 85 mark which would have given him every chance of qualification.

Behan then scored 14.000 on the parallel bars and followed this with a 13.600 on the horizontal bar.

This left him needing a score around the 15 mark in the final rotation to make it through, with his favoured discipline - the floor - last up.

However the 27-year-old was untidy in parts during his last routine, and a sloppy landing contributed to a score of 14.333 - not enough to see him through to the next round.

Behan injured his knee on his final landing and limped off the floor and out of the Olympics - but with his head held high after a valiant effort in Rio.

At the top of the leaderboard Ukraine's Oleg Verniaiev set the standard with a score of 91.964.

Patrick Madden

Patrick Madden

Patrick Madden is a former sports journalist with The Irish Times