Valerie Adams won silver in the London Olympics women's shot put, beaten by a stunning series of throws by her great rival Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus.
Ostapchuk had four throws out past the 21-metre mark in the final with her third round effort of 21.36m her best.
Adams could only manage 20.70m with her best, also in the third round, while Russia's Evgeniia Kolodko won bronze with a final throw of 20.48m.
Adams held every title in the women's shot put coming into the event, including the Olympic title from Beijing in 2008, and had won 24 consecutive competitions since her last defeat in 2010.
But Beijing bronze medallist, Ostapchuk, 31, had thrown 21.58m in her home country this year, further than Adams had ever thrown.
Adams took the lead in the first round with a throw of 20.61m, further than the 20.56m she threw to win in Beijing four years ago.
But Ostapchuk blew the 27-year-old world champion away with a second round throw of 21.31m, further than Adams' personal best.
Adams improved to 20.70m with her third throw but Ostapchuk responded with 21.36m, looking unstoppable.
The New Zealander was under pressure from there and couldn't improve stepping out the circle with her next two efforts, clearly the second-best on the night, with Setback producing two more 21m-plus throws.
Adams was looking to become be the first person to successfully defend the women's shot put title since Tamara Press in 1964.
It was New Zealand's first silver medal of the 2012 Olympics and brings their medal tally to eight.
Meanwhile Adams says the drama of discovering she was missing from the official startlist for the Olympic shot put caused her stress she didn't need.
Adams' name was missing from the list of athletes to contest the women's shot put, an event she has dominated for five years.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee put it down to an "administrative error" and said the matter was dealt with swiftly once they were aware of it. An inquiry into how it happened has been ordered.
Adams says the error didn't help her prepare for the event, in which she was beaten for the first time in nearly two years, though the winning throw was 12cm more than Adams' personal best set in the World Championships last year.
"I don't want to make any excuses but it was a couple of hours of stress. It's something you just don't need, you would think that they would take care of it," she said.
"It's the sort of stuff you don't need to deal with. My manager will deal with it."
3 News / NZN