HER tears showed us all how hard defeat was for her and her teammates.

How much effort Amy Wilson Hardy has put into the Olympics and how much it meant to her.

Years of training and striving to get her to the top did just that and our girl has been a real star of these Olympics, which have been fantastic.

The difference between triumph and missing out is so fine and can come down to that small piece of luck.

A fraction of a second can be all it takes to change history.

The great thing is that Amy is still young and she can take solace in the words of Rottingdean’s Rudyard Kipling: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster.

“And treat those two impostors just the same... Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it.”

For while it will be hard for her to see the bright side in defeat now, we have all watched her emphatic performances with joy.

She will get more chances to achieve the victory she covets.

The England football team were full of despair after getting so close at the Italia 90 World Cup.

But compare them with the awful mess of this summer’s Euro 16 debacle and Bobby Robson’s team and their campaign is remembered as a huge success.

The heroics by Amy and her teammates in Brazil will stand the test of time and may well create a legacy for sport bettering anything done at London 2012.

Many a young girl will have seen her pride in herself and her sport and will no doubt have been encouraged to get involved.

And for that, Amy will have achieved much of what she set out to do. We’re all proud of her.