KEY POINTS:
BEIJING - New Zealand javelin thrower Stuart Farquhar struggled in wet conditions and failed to advance through the Olympic qualifying round today.
Competing at his second Games, Farquhar battled to find his rhythm on the wet Bird's Nest surface, made treacherous by heavy rain this morning, and placed 20th out of 38 throwers.
The best of his three efforts was his first at 76.14m. He followed it with efforts of 75.51m and 73.87m.
After the third throw Farquhar thrust his head back in frustration, having failed to get near his personal best of 83.23m, set this year in Canberra.
A throw of 79.85m today would have been enough to qualify among the 12 athletes for Saturday's final session.
The top qualifier was Vadims Vasilevskis, of Latvia, with 83.51m.
Farquhar, 26, struggled to find his best, along with many of his rivals who couldn't retain their footing at the end of their throws.
The eight-time national champion was 19th at the 2004 Athens Games with a best of 74.63m.
He finished seventh at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and narrowly missed qualifying for the final at the world championships in Japan last year.
- NZPA
