Shot putter Ben Tuimaseve has vowed "I'll be back" after coming last in the F37 men's shot put final at the Tokyo Paralympics on Friday.
It was the 32 year old's Paralympics debut, but he missed out on a spot in the top eight, which would have earned him three more throws.
He placed ninth, his best throw 13.31 metres, which was 7cm shorter than Poland's Tomasz Sciubak's best, who inevitably came eighth.
But this was nothing to sneeze at, with Tuimaseve's best producing an Oceania record.
Although he was "disappointed" and "sad" with ninth place, he told 1 NEWS "that's the game, aye" and "it is what it is".
"Can’t do anything about it but move forward now, aye, so we’re all good."
Tuimaseve said he was "proud" to have made it to the Paralympics, but admitted he had been in a rush to throw and had gotten "too excited".
"That’s the hard part to take for me, because I know I can throw better than that, and I felt like I was just warming up, but that’s the game.
"It’s cutthroat and I wasn’t good enough on the day."
Despite this, Tuimaseve said he loved competing with the best in the world, who he described as "second to none", and vowed "I'll be back".
"You saw last place but not the last of me. I’m not done yet."
TVNZ Duke will show all the New Zealand moments from noon until 1am daily from August 24, and highlights will be on TVNZ 1, Duke and OnDemand.
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