Rio 2016 Olympics: 'Gutted' Martyn Rooney tells BBC he 'ran like d***'

The Olympic sprinter said he 'didn't know what I was doing' after poor time in heat

Martyn Rooney fails to qualify for the finals

With so much built on Olympic success, athletes are often understandably burdened with an overwhelming sense of disappointment when they finish without taking home a medal.

Some may be extra hard on themselves afterwards, like the visibly gutted Team GB sprinter Martyn Rooney, who told the BBC after failing to qualify: “I ran like a d**k”.

The 29-year-old emerged as the 400m European champion this year but failed to replicate his success in Rio, finishing fifth in his heat with a disappointing time of 45.6 seconds.

“I don't know what I was doing the first 250m,” he told BBC Sport. “I’m just gutted for myself and everyone that's supported me.”

Rooney later apologised for his language and said he needed to “sort my head out” in order to deliver in the men’s 4x400m relay. He wrote on Twitter: “Honoured to represent my country, disappointed to run so poorly on the biggest stage. I moved on quickly from the Europeans and the main goal this season was to make the final here in Rio. I tried to come onto the race as relaxed as possible and it showed.”