Veteran rower Emma Twigg has battled bravely to defend her Olympic crown, but succumbed to formidable Dutch rival Karolien Florijn in the women's single sculls final at Vaires sur Marne Nautical Stadium.
In her fifth Games, Twigg, 37, sought to repeat her victory at Tokyo three years ago and showed impressive form during preliminary rounds, clocking the fastest time in semis to secure the prized centre lane for the medal race.
Two-time defending world champion Florijn was still heavy favourite in the next lane and started quickest of the six-boat final, shadowed by the Kiwi, who was plotting a fast finish over the second half of the 2000m journey.
That order remained through halfway, as Twigg wound up her momentum, slowly eating into her rivals' advantage.
"I looked across at Karolien with 500 and thought, 'She's well and truly there, and we're in with a shout', but the legs gave up on me," she told Sky Sport.
Inside the final 500, Twigg's challenge came to and end, with Florijn finding another gear to finish almost two seconds clear in 7m 17.28s. Aussie Tara Rigney, another expected to push for gold, was run down on the line by Lithuanian Viktorija Senkute for bronze.
"Honestly, I'm super proud of that," said Twigg. "I really just went for it.
"It's amazing to come away with a medal and be part of a wider team effort, it's just blown my mind.
"I was proud after Tokyo, this was always going to be the cherry on top. It's certainly had its ups and downs, and even a month ago, I was questioning whether I would be here and in good form, so this week's been a blast for me.
"I didn't want it to end really."
Twigg finished an agonising fourth at both London 2012 and Rio 2016, and triumph at Tokyo seemed the perfect way to end a distinguished career. Persuaded to return for Paris, she has cemented her legacy as one of NZ rowing's greatest performers.
The men's final, featuring Kiwi Tom Mackintosh, was delayed more than an hour, after traffic jams near the venue prevented some athletes from arriving on time for their buildup.
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