“Super excited to get back into the stadium. The crowd is incredible!” wrote Olivia Breen after falling short of making the women’s 100m T38 finals. However, despite the setback, the two-time Paralympic bronze medalist was excited to compete in the long jump event on Thursday. The British athlete won bronze in the T38 long jump in Tokyo and hoped to do even better in Paris.

However, despite replicating her success in the event, Breen saw her dream shatter in front of her eyes. “This one really hurts more than anything else in my career,” the track and field athlete wrote earlier today. Despite jumping the same distance as the bronze medalist, the athlete who didn’t let cerebral palsy define her life didn’t stand on the podium.

On her final attempt, the Team GB athlete made a 4.99-meter jump, tying Karen Palomeque Moreno. So the judges had to compare every attempt by the Colombian and British athletes to decide the winner. Unfortunately, Moreno’s 4.79-meter second attempt was better than Breen’s jump. “It’s brutal! What happened keeps coming over me in waves,” Olivia Breen confessed on X.

The heartbreaking loss against the Colombian spelled the end of the Paralympian’s Paris 2024 campaign. After not making the 100-meter dash finals and placing fourth in the long jump, Breen has no more events lined up to take a shot at redemption. However, despite the pain of the upsetting exit, the world championship silver medalist thanks those who got her this far.

Besides thanking her coaching team, Olivia Breen was especially thankful to “Michelle Miller (psychologist) and all of my medical team” for helping her stay on top of her medical condition during the competition. “I am going to have a break,” the Paralympian announced. While she has some soul-searching to do, Paris 2024 was not the final chapter in the champion’s career.

Olivia Breen’s shattered dream and unbreakable will

“It’s been a massive dream for me to run as fast as I can, and jump as far as I can. And fingers crossed, there’ll be something shiny at the end,” Breen told PabsMedia ahead of the Olympics. However, the 28-year-old couldn’t fulfill her dream. Breen came within touching distance at Stade de France but couldn’t touch the bronze medal. Yet the Paralympian isn’t ready to give up.

Despite announcing a break, Olivia Breen knows she’ll be back to training in no time. “I will want to be in the gym and back on the track – it’s what I do, and it’s what makes me who I am,” the track and field star concluded her post. Setbacks are nothing too new for the Welsh athlete. After winning bronze in London, she missed out on a podium spot in Rio.

So now the Paralympic and World Championship medalist will go back to the drawing board. Although she may be past her prime when LA 2028 rolls around, the Paralympian is likely to give it another shot before hanging up the metaphorical gloves.