updated 5:58 p.m. ET Aug. 28, 2004

ATHENS, Greece - Breaux Greer defied the medical odds for a long time, but reality caught up to him Saturday night at Olympic Stadium.

The pain of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee was too much, and the big, blond guy with the ugly black leg brace wound up last in a field of 12.

Normally the friendliest of athletes, Greer walked quickly past reporters afterward.

“I really don’t feel like talking,” he said.

Asked how badly the leg felt, he replied, “pretty bad,” adding an unprintable adjective to emphasize the point.

Slide show   Emotional Moments: Aug. 29 Trouble mars the marathon but the Olympic spirit prevails.

Greer tore his ACL on his American record throw of 287-9 on June 11 in Bergen, Norway. Advised by doctors to undergo surgery, he decided against it, to try to make it through this important season.

At best in any competition, he could get off one good throw. At worst, he said in an interview in Crete two weeks ago, the pain was so bad “I feel like shooting myself.”

He lives with shot putter Adam Nelson, silver medalist the last two Olympics, and Nelson’s wife Laci. The Nelsons kept Greer positive, believing he could accomplish the unlikely.

Greer made it through the Olympic trials and a few European meets, and he looked like a medal contender when he led all qualifiers Thursday at 286-3. It was a distance that would have won the gold medal Saturday, and that only added to Greer’s disgust.

Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway won the gold at 283-9. Vadims Vasilevskis of Latvia took the silver at 278-8, and Sergey Makarov of Russia the bronze at 278-4.

Greer is known as a joker apt to say about anything. At the U.S. training camp in Crete, he wore a T-shirt that read: “No I don’t take steroids, but thanks for asking.” He talked about how he used to holler loudly when he threw to make the javelin go farther.

Now he hollers, he said, because of the pain.

Greer had talked about getting just one big throw before his knee gave out, about being carried off on a stretcher after giving it all he got.

On his first attempt Saturday, his leg seemed to slide sideways, and that’s when it hurts the most. The javelin went only 243-11. The next two attempts were worse, and Greer stepped over the line to intentionally make them fouls.

Then he sat for a moment, got up and walked away.

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