RIO DE JANEIRO -- Australia hoped for two gold medals from the BMX -- in the end they got none but it was not for lack of courage or emotion.The sheer brutality and unpredictable nature of this sport was personified in the devastated gold-medal favourite Caroline Buchanan whose crash in the final leg of her semifinal ended her Games while Sam Willoughby, who won all three of his semi heats, then came sixth in the final.Both believed theyd win gold but BMX is the most unforgiving of sports where sometimes logic and form are thrown over the handlebars.For Buchanan, her most unfortunate of falls left her inconsolable as she attempted to make sense of it all, head in hands, hidden in plain sight behind the photographers gantry.Like London 2012 where she came fifth in the final, the tears flowed again. But her brevity in standing, describing her emotions soon after the moment of personal devastation having seen four years of dreams gone with one slip, was admirable.I can truly say I did everything possible, Buchanan said. I qualified well, I set myself up and hadnt been able to watch the footage yet but I pedalled into the transition at the bottom of the ramp, felt myself buckle and in that split second I chased the first jump, my bars moved forward and I knew in that moment it was going to be a tough ask to finish the lap.I crashed into the first corner and I didnt make that final. To walk away from this Olympics, everyone knows this is a brutal sport, there are no white lines, no guarantees and I can hold my head high that I am a champion and Ive done all I can.This sport, perhaps like none other here, displays the sheer extremes of emotion in one glance; the womens final saw Colombias Mariana Pajon - a favourite of the crowd - celebrating her gold at the finishing line while meters away Frances Manon Valentino was being lifted, delicately on to a stretcher.Then came the mens final. Willoughby had as close as possible to one foot on the top podium but after being left behind the front runners at the first bend, he just could not pin back the leading quartet.His teammate, Anthony Dean, who also excelled in the semis, failed to finish after crashing all under the punishing Brazilian sun.As the victors celebrated, Willoughby cycled halfway up the hill to the athletes facilities before stopping, head hung, assessing what had just taken place.I won every lap, but I stumbled at the last hurdle, Willoughby said. It was a mistake I made; I dragged my back wheel across the first jump and lost my speed. Ive been on the good end of the sport many times.I wouldnt do anything different in the lead up over the last four years. I tore my ACL six months ago and when it happened, everything was turned towards this race. Its been tough, I have had to change the way I prepared everything. I feel I did everything perfect until the last hurdle but unfortunately in sport, what you did earlier in the day doesnt mean anything.It is the highest-octane of sports; also one of the most brutal in the Olympic armoury. Its as if Metallicas Whiplash has been combined with Destruction Derby, then played out on a mini-golf course which had absorbed too much artificial colouring. Add in a group of athletes with absolutely no regard for their own safety, racing at a breakneck speed and you are starting to get the idea.The riders twisted, turned, jumped, and pedalled at speeds of up to 55kph all in proximity akin to the claustrophobic London Underground at rush hour. Crashes were inevitable with the final, Olympic ring-adorned turn, proving particularly perilous while the jump on the second turn for the mens course caused all manner of difficulty. Bikes hit the green surface with gun-shot alarm; some fell, some rode it out.The mens quarterfinals saw three medal-hopefuls crash out, causing Great Britains Liam Phillips to be hospitalised, a year after he criticised the course for being too dangerous.The mens semifinals werent saved of crashes either -- the mens second run saw New Zealands Trent Jones and Venezualas Jefferson Milano collide after landing on the big banked curve; whether connected or not a Dutch journalist started whistling Every breath you take soon after they had pedalled, slowly to finish the race.At the other end of the oscillating emotional scale was the floral shorts-wearing Venezuelan next to him lived every jump and turn of Stefany Hernandezs races, with her bronze medal-finish leaving him screaming in joy up to the cloudless Rio sky.As Olympic experiences go, this was remarkable. The stands were full of Colombian and Brazil supporters attempting to turn the BMX venue into their version of the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez or Maracana. But at the centre of it were the extremes of Olympic emotion laid bare on the green course. It was brutal, thrilling and devastating in equal measure.I didnt get on that box for the medals that I know Australia wanted to see but I am super proud, said Buchanan as the tears flowed but as she says, shes a fighter and will now target Tokyo 2020.Life in the Willoughby household tonight will also be one of split emotions as his fiancé Aiise Post won silver in the womens event. As he stood assessing his own race, she walked past and gave him a consoling pat on the back. He will celebrate her success tonight, play his race over a thousand times and then refocus.When you finish the race you just want to fall off a cliff. But at the end of the day, its sport, Willoughby said. I wrote myself a letter a month ago that I read this morning and I have many great things in my life. Im getting married next year.The sun will come up tomorrow, life will go on. Ombre Hydro Flask . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Hydro Flask Juomapullo . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. http://www.hydroflaskpullosuomi.com/hydro-flask-40-oz.html . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Hydro Flask Coffee . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said. Hydro Flask Straw Lid . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Georgia Techs streak of 18 consecutive bowl appearances was snapped after a 3-9 season in 2015-16. At the midway point of the 2016-17 season, the Yellow Jackets have earned three of the six wins needed to become bowl-eligible.?ESPNs Football Power Index favors the Jackets in three of their remaining six games and gives them a 74 percent chance to become bowl-eligible.Mark Scchlabach and Brett McMurphy both project Georgia Tech to reach a bowl.dddddddddddd McMurphy predicts a matchup with South Florida in the?St. Petersburg Bowl, while Schlabach forecasts a game against Indiana in the Quick Lane Bowl.--?John Wilmhoff ' ' '