Paris 2024 Olympics: Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita miss out as Gabby Thomas wins 200m gold

Neita, 27, had made no secret of her determination to end her wait for an individual global medal in Paris – and she could not have gone much closer to achieving that.

Such are the fine margins in global sprint finals, she has finished a combined 0.07 seconds away from medals in the Olympic 100m and 200m.

Having made five global podiums as part of the women’s 4x100m relay squad, Neita has made impressive progress since reaching – but finishing last – in the Olympic 100m final in Tokyo three years ago.

“All in all it has been a fantastic Olympic Games for me,” Neita told BBC Sport. “I am a double finalist. Fourth place in the 100m by a couple of hundredths and [almost] the same here. I know my time is coming, I have to be a little bit more patient.

“I gave it my all tonight. I’m proud of myself but I really wanted to leave here with an individual medal and I am just hungry.”

It is to the relay where Neita’s attention now turns, alongside team-mate Asher-Smith.

Five years have passed since Asher-Smith, at the age of 23, realised her dazzling potential by becoming the first British woman to win a major global sprint title in this event at the 2019 World Championships.

In pursuit of a first Olympic medal, three years after being left in tears when she missed out on the 100m final in Tokyo, the 28-year-old was bitterly disappointed to fall short once again over that distance in Paris.

But Asher-Smith ensured a positive end to her individual campaign as she brushed off that setback to produce a strong 200m showing.

“I feel good. It has been a long week and I am proud of that performance,” she said.

“It was a really strong field, all the girls between them had so many strengths. So many good bend runners, so many amazing finishers and I was really proud that I held my own.”