Hikaru Mori's bid to become Japan's first-ever Olympic medalist in trampoline ended with a disappointing qualification-round exit when she lost her bearings during a backflip attempt in her second routine on Friday.
Her compatriot Megu Uyama entered the final at an empty Ariake Gymnastics Centre as the unlikely challenger but finished fifth in the gymnastics event that delivered a Zhu Xueying, Liu Lingling 1-2 for China. Briton Bryony Page took bronze.
"I overcame one hurdle after another to get this far, there've been some really rough times, and I even told my coach I wanted to quit. I wanted to run away," said a teary-eyed Mori, before bursting into tears mid-interview.
"I'm so grateful to all the people who've helped me get to the big stage. I'm proud of myself for making it this far," she said.
In her Olympic debut in Tokyo, the 22-year-old Mori, the recent World Cup winner who is also the 2018 synchro and 2019 team and individual world champion, had to stop midway through her voluntary routine that led to a deduction-impacted 16.425-point score.
After two routines in qualifying, which narrows the field to eight athletes, Mori was 13th of out 16. Uyama, who advanced with the fifth-best score, earned 54.655 points in the final, her fifth-place finish the best result in the event by a Japanese.
Japan has never won an Olympic medal in trampoline, which was officially added to the program for the 2000 Sydney Games.
Trampoline competitions take place over two days in Tokyo, ending with the men's qualification and final on Saturday.
