Former St Neots resident Robbie Grabarz agonisingly missed out on a second Olympic Games medal last night.

The 28 year-old, who has battled back to the top following major knee surgery since winning bronze in London four years ago, finished in fourth place in the men’s final in Rio.

He cleared 2.33m, but an earlier failure in his first attempt at 2.25m meant he finished outside the medals.

Grabarz said: “I made one fatal error at 2.25m and it cost me a medal, but I’m proud of finishing fourth at an Olympic Games, even though it is the cruellest place to finish.

“It is a pretty frustrating and upsetting place to be, but still something to be pretty damn proud about.

“If someone said six weeks ago that I was going to come fourth, I’d have been really chuffed.

“In the heat of the moment when it is that close you are absolutely gutted.”

Derek Drouin, of Canada, won gold with a leap of 2.38m. Mutaz Essa Barsham (Qatar) took silver after clearing 2.36m while Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine pipped Grabarz to bronze after also getting over 2.33m.

Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, joint bronze medallist with Grabarz and Drouin in London, cleared 2.36m to win silver, and Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine took bronze with 2.33m.