Rio de Janeiro - She was the athlete who had just missed out on a spot in the final, but the first thing Jasmine Ser did upon completing the 10m air rifle qualification round was assure others she was okay.
The shooter posted a 413.5 after four series on Saturday morning at the Olympic Shooting Centre, finishing in 25th place. She needed to be among the top eight to earn a spot in the final.
"I'm okay, I'm okay," she said as she met journalists immediately after her event. "I was ready, but I just made some technical mistakes at the start.
While she posted a couple of "big 10s" over the four series, several 9s set her back by too much in a world-class field where nothing short of a 415.9 was needed to make the final.
China's Du Li, in particular, was way ahead of the field as she set a new Olympic record of 420.7 to qualify tops for the final, also held on Saturday morning.
Said Ser's coach Kirill Ivanov: "If you look at the average scores (across the board), it's a little bit lower than the World Cup. The pressure at the Olympic Games is always a little bit more.
"Jasmine didn't have enough perfect control. We'll have to discuss about it."
Ser, who is competing in her second Olympics, cut a relaxed figure, despite admitting that she had not felt such intensity in competition since the London Games.
Said the 25-year-old, who will compete in her pet 50m 3 Positions event next Thursday (Aug 11): "This is like an opening for me. My focus is on the 50m. That's the event I'm looking forward to."