Former Dartford schoolboy Adam Gemili was “gutted” after missing out on Olympic bronze by just three thousandths of a second in the 200 metres final.

Four-and-a-half years after swapping football for a career in athletics, the 22-year-old lined-up alongside the world's best in Rio last night.

Gemili, an ex-pupil of Dartford Grammar School, produced a fine run in his first Olympic final, but agonisingly missed out on a podium spot.

Usain Bolt took gold ahead of Andre de Grasse, with Christophe Lemaitre and Gemili finishing behind them on 20.12 seconds.

After a lengthy wait, a distraught Gemili dropped to the track after the Frenchman was confirmed as the bronze medallist.

"I'm gutted," the British sprinter said. "Probably the worst way to go out is fourth place and it went down to thousandths.

"I gave it my all, I literally gave it everything. It wasn't enough.

"I've got a great team behind me, we all put in such hard work and I wanted to get that medal not just for myself but for everyone. I couldn't quite do it today.

"It's hard to take. It's going to take a little while to get over that I think."

Gemili believes there would have been a different outcome had he kept his "form at the end".

He added: "I just missed out on the final in London by four hundredths of a second and here I've missed out on a medal by three thousandths of a second.

"It was tough, I dropped to the floor because I really gave it my all - I hope people can see that because all my friends and family have been watching.

"Hopefully I made them proud and happy - I am just disappointed I couldn't get a medal for them."