Star Italian gymnast Igor Cassina on Tuesday fell far short of retaining the Olympic gold medal he won in Athens in his trademark event, the high bar.
Cassina, the only Italian gymnast to have a move named after him, came down on the wrong side of the bar after a steepling swoop, leaving coach Maurizio Allievi in tears as he came fourth behind 20-year-old Chinese Zou Kai.
''I only have myself to blame,'' the 31-year-old Cassina told a crowded press conference.
''I put too much energy into the jump off the bar. That's why I came down on the wrong side.
''You pay dearly for the slightest error in this discipline. But anyway I'm happy there are so many of you here, so people will find out how hard the exercises we perform are''.
''But let's talk about the future, we're still young,'' quipped the veteran, who said he hadn't made his mind up yet about his coach's plea to carry on until the next Olympics in London in 2012.
''All I'm thinking about now is a long holiday''.
