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Beijing: Britain's world number one Phillips Idowu had to settle for a silver medal in the triple jump after being beaten by Portugal's Nelson Evora.
He took Portugal's first gold of the Beijing Games with a mark of 17.67 metres, ahead of Idowu who managed 17.62 metres.
Leevan Sands, of the Bahamas, took bronze with 17.59 metres, while Britain's Larry Achike was seventh with 17.17 metres.
Idowu, who had previously been unbeaten this season, led after three rounds but Evora's fourth jump gave him victory.
"It's not what I wanted but I'll take it," said Idowu.
Tough competition
"It was a really tough competition. I was really close but in the end it wasn't quite enough.
"It hurts. I'm upset. I came here to achieve a lot more and I just fell short.
"I've come a long way, though.
"Last year I wasn't even in the mix for medals. It's been a long road.
"I'm a winner, I don't want to be content with silver.
"I will go on - I've just got to keep improving.
Outdoor best
"It would have taken an outdoor personal best to win the gold but I've been in such great form this year I believed I could do it."
Evora, who was a surprise winner at the 2007 World Championships, becomes his country's first gold-medal winner in an Olympic field event.
He had arrived in China with a season's best of only 17.24, which ranked him at 17th in the world in 2008.
But he found his form when it mattered.
Idowu cannot be accused of underperforming after recording 17.51 metres, 17.31 metres and 17.62 metres with his first three jumps.
Unable to improve
His third effort was his longest this year but he was unable to improve on it in his next three jumps.
The Londoner needed to match his personal best of 17.68 metres to take the gold.
But he could only manage a red flag and a leap of 17.26 metres before registering a disappointing final effort of 16.41 metres.
It was a disappointing night for the 29-year-old, who had been tipped to win to make up for his disappointing showing in Athens in 2004 where he had posted three no-jumps.
Idowu finished sixth in Sydney in 2000 behind gold-medallist Jonathan Edwards.
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