WATERFOOT skeleton slider Kristan Bromley was coy over his future but savoured another top-10 finish in the Winter Olympics following an excellent final run.
The Games in Sochi are expected to be the 41-year-old's fourth and final appearance as an athlete, although he gave his younger rivals a run for their money with an eighth-place finish on Saturday in an overall time of three minutes 48.17 seconds - 3.88secs adrift of gold medallist Alexander Tretiakov.
While retirement from competitive events is likely to follow, Bromley did not rule out carrying on and will speak with his family and team before making a decision.
“I don’t know. It’s a family decision, not just myself,” he said.
“We’ll let the dust settle and then we’ll make some goals.”
Starting the night joint eighth, he slipped behind compatriot Dominic Parsons after the third run, but came storming back to finish as the leading Briton.
His final lap time of 56.74 seconds was his fastest over the two days and left Bromley happy with his performance.
“I’m really pleased to end this Olympics on such a high note and to be in the top 10,” he said.
“I was hoping to challenge for at least top six, but that’s just the way it is racing. When you're four tenths difference on the start, it’s just too much on this track.”
Should this prove to be the Lancashire man’s swansong, he has no regrets in a career filled with highlights, including becoming the first man in history to win the World Championship, European Championship and World Cup in the same season in 2008.
“I came here without the expectation and probably feel as though I've put one of my better performances in,” he added.
“To finish in the top 10 three times, for me as a British athlete, in this sport, I’m really proud of that. I wanted the Olympic medal to finish the set off but it didn't happen.
“I’m certainly not going to go away and feel as though I haven’t fulfilled something in my career, I’ve done some amazing results and I'm really proud of those results.
“I’ll cherish those forever.”
Parsons ended his debut Olympic campaign with an encouraging 10th-placed finish and was reasonably proud of his efforts.
“I can't really complain,” he said. “There were a few mistakes in all the runs but it's been a great experience anyway.
“I’ve got a lot to work on in the next four years.”
Tretiakov took the gold medal, to the delight of the partisan home fans, with Latvia's Martins Dukurs settling for silver after finishing 0.81secs adrift of the Russian, while Matthew Antoine took bronze.
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