Basingstoke’s Olympic medal dreams were dashed on Friday as local hero Ben Pattison suffered a defeat in the semi-final of 800m competition.

The 22-year-old, who had stormed to first place in his qualifying heat, was unable to march further as he finished in fourth place in the semi-finals.

Despite clocking an almost identical time of 1:45.57 in the semi-final as in the qualifying heat, it was not enough to secure a place in the final.

The British Champion unfortunately couldn’t get near his personal best of 1:42.27 which he clocked at the Herculis Meeting in Monaco in July.

While Pattison’s hopes were dashed, there was some cheer for Team GB as Max Burgin qualified for the final with a time of 1:43.50.

Following the race, Pattison posted on Instagram: "It’s no secret that this year my target was to come home with a medal.

"I’ve been in the best shape of my life but unfortunately with some illness in the lead up last week I lost 3kg and my body wasn’t where it needed to be today.

"The heats went well and I had a lot of confidence unfortunately today I felt flat but I raced well and put myself into a position which I’d normally be able to kick off and qualify.

"I am gutted as I haven’t put a foot wrong all year and I have worked so hard. I want to thank everyone who has helped me achieve my childhood dream of becoming an Olympian but I wanted so much more.

"The reality of it is that I failed at the highest level but I will be back."