Canadian track cyclist Melissa Pemble said on Saturday "the nature of the Paralympic beast" got the better of her after she finished fourth and out of the medals in the C1-3 500m individual time trial.
Pemble, who has cerebral palsy in the right side of her body, narrowly missed out on a medal at the velodrome in southwestern Paris.
The 24-year-old is competing in her second Games, after featuring in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in five para skiing events.
"I've never been more nervous in my life for a race," Pemble told AFP. "Coming into the stands and the pre-race lightshow, it was different.
"I think it's the nature of the beast, I'm bound to be nervous. Fourth is always a tough place to finish," she added.
Pemble claimed a world record time in qualifying for the final before finishing outside of the medal places due to the Paralympics' disability category system.
"To show up and get a world record was a relief," she said.
"To do that in a Paralympic Games was crazy.
"The factoring does go against me, being in the highest category," she added.
SWITCH TO CYCLING
Pemble moved to Canada from Britain in 2009 with her family due to her father's work and made the switch from alpine skiing to cycling four years ago.
Her best result in Pyeongchang was ninth in the downhill and super combined.
"As a skier I was never high up in the rankings," she said.
"I was 17, I was a very different athlete. Just making the Games in Peyongchang was a dream come true."
She said the Canadian Paralympic cycling coaches soon identifed that she was a "sprinter" in the saddle, "so we dialled all the training to that".
Despite her fourth-placed finish in Paris, Pemble has had reason to cheer during these Games.
Her boyfriend is the Netherlands' Tristan Bangma, who took gold in the 4000m individual pursuit for athletes with visual impairments.
Pemble will now switch her focus to her remaining two events, the C3 time trial on Wednesday and Saturday's C3 road race.
"I'm a track cyclist doing road, so I try and do as best as I can," she added.
"This (track race) was my main event of the year, so that will be a bonus," she added.