Adam Gemili missed out on an Olympic bronze medal in a photo finish after a fine run in Rio in the early hours of Friday morning.

The 22-year-old former Dartford schoolboy made light of running in lane two, a track slick from a rain shower 20 minutes before the race and a drop in temperature in the stadium to finish strong and stop the clock in a time of 20.12secs.

His excellent dip for the line saw him break the plane at the exact same time as Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre in lane seven and Dutchman Churandy Martina in lane eight, adrift of Canada's Andre de Grasse in second and Usain Bolt, who claimed a third and final Olympic 200m gold.

Gemili and Lemaitre sank to the track waiting for the result confirmation and when it came Martina was given a time of 20.13 with Lemaitre handed bronze by just three thousandths of a second leaving Gemili in a cruel fourth and welling up on the track.

A visibly emotional Blackheath & Bromley AC star said after the race: "I’m just heartbroken. I’ve put so much into that run and to get so close is just heart-breaking. I’m absolutely gutted.

“I was on the inside and I knew Bolt was going to go and a lot of people were going to try and go with him. I sat down with my coach Steve Fudge and we said ‘let them go and we’ll be a bit more conservative, save a bit for the home straight and I’ll start to go past people’. I did but I just lost my form at the end.

"I am really gutted. It is probably the worst way to go out when you finish in fourth.

“When it's down to thousandths of a second it is hard to take."

He added: "I thought it was close. I knew I was in the mix but it is hard to tell. Lemaitre was on the other side of the track so I couldn’t tell what happened.

“I knew it was me and a couple of other people who could get it but I saw his name come up and I just fell to the floor.

“I gave it so much and I know I can run faster but today is not about the times, it is about medals."

He reflected: “It’s been a fantastic season and I’ve had such amazing support from everyone in the UK and around the world, so I want to say thank you very much to them – it means a lot.

“This is the fun bit, competing at the championships. We have a big year next year with London and I can’t wait to get out there and put this right, as I’m gutted, so gutted.

"Fourth place is the worst place you can be and in the same time as well... it’s heart-breaking.”

Crestfallen Gemili must try and raise himself for the 4x100m final around 2.35am on Friday night/Saturday morning.

He added: "I wanted to get that medal not just for myself but for my whole team so I gave it my all.

“I couldn’t quite do it today and that is hard to take. It is going to take me a little while to get over this but I need to make sure I am on it tomorrow for the relay.

“I went out there and I was fearless. I wasn’t just there to make up the numbers and be a spectator.

“I was there to show that Team GB can challenge the best in the world, especially at the Olympics.

“I didn’t quite do it which is hard to take but I will be ready to go in the relay and I know we can definitely take a medal there so we will be fully up for it.”