The New Zealand men's quad are bitter a Russian doping infraction left them with little realistic hope of achieving their Olympic rowing goal.
A rushed campaign reached its most likely conclusion when Jade Uru, Nathan Flannery, George Bridgewater and John Storey finished sixth and last in their repechage in Rio.
They barely featured in a race won by Germany. Only the first two crews advanced to the final.
It was always a tall order for the Kiwis given their disrupted preparation.
Their Rio prospects seemingly ended 10 weeks ago when narrowly failing to advance through a sudden death qualifying regatta in Lucerne.
However, a doping suspension to a Russian crew member resulted in that boat's withdrawal from Rio five weeks ago.
It created a slot for the Kiwis, who had hung up their oars for a month. Two members had gone on holiday before learning of the possibility of a promotion.
An intense five-week training blitz at Lake Karapiro wasn't enough to close the gap on their rivals, leaving Storey lamenting they were victims of sport's doping problem.
