大象传媒

Yesterday, I asked you to name some Olympians who failed to live up to expectations.

Today, I'd like to hear about your nearly men (or women) - the ones who would have won a hatful of Olympic golds if it hadn't have been for the fact they were in the presence of .

Take Britain's best-ever javelin thrower, , for example. He is the only British track and field athlete to win at three consecutive Games, but he famously failed to win gold.

And the reason he missed out? .

Aged just 23, Backley held the going into his first Games in , but finished behind Czechoslovakia's Zelezny and Finland's in third.

Four years later in , Zelezny was again triumphant as Backley and Raty swapped places on the podium.

At the , Backley looked poised to bow out on a high after setting a new with his second throw of 89.95m.

But in the next round his old nemesis hit back with a throw of 90.17m to confirm his place as the of all time with his third victory.

picked up four European and three Commonwealth javelin gold medals and two world championship silvers in a glittering 15-year career, but Olympic gold remained elusive.

Who are your nearly men of Olympic sport?