Gold was taken by judo world champion American Kayla Harrison and bronze medal by Henk Grol, the number two seed, from Holland.
Gibbons has had an exhausting day, battling her way into the finals this afternoon in a series of fights that left her, prior to the finals, guaranteed a medal.
The 25-year-old from London was watched by Prime Minister David Cameron and Russian leader Vladimir Putin – himself a judo black belt – as well as an army of supportive British Olympics fans.
There were high hopes that Gibbons could bring home a gold for Team GB today but in the end she was unable to beat fourth-seeded American Harrison, who claimed a narrow 2-0 victory.
The American victory however is well-deserved as Harrison has had a time becoming her country’s first Olympics judo gold. The U.S. athlete was revealed that she was sexually abused by her judo coach as a teenager.
Gibbons was seen mouthing “I love you mum” after her semi-final win, in memory of Jeanette who passed away from leukaemia in 2004.
