Australian paddlers Tom Green and Jean van der Westhuyzen will leave Paris with a "dirty gold", unable to repeat their Olympic heroics in the men's K2 event.
The pair won the title in Tokyo, however the 1000m event was replaced by a 500m race for the 2024 Games.
Despite smashing a 20-year-old Olympic record in the semi-final earlier on Friday at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, Green and van der Westhuyzen couldn't catch Germany's Max Lemke and Jacob Schopf in the medal race and crossed the line third.
Hungary's Sandor Totka and Bence Nadas won silver.
If the Australians were able to repeat their semi-final time of one minute 26.85 seconds in the medal race, they would have taken gold.
"Winning an Olympic medal is so special so we're stoked with that but of course we're going to be disappointed," said 25-year-old van der Westhuyzen.
"We really thought we were capable for a gold medal but all of the crews on the start line think they're capable of that as well.
"We would have loved to come here and get the gold again but we'll live to fight another day and coming back home with the dirty gold isn't too bad."
Aware of the fast start required to win the explosive sprint race, the Australians have made it a focus since Tokyo.
But Green felt he got their rhythm wrong, which cost them the crown with Germany leading from start to finish.
"I kind of screwed up the start quite a bit, just not what were trying to do and not what we were hoping to do and I feel like if it did go to plan, I think it would be a different result," said the 25-year-old Queenslander, who will also race in the K1 1000m on Saturday.
It's the third medal for the van der Westhuyzen brothers after Pierre, 20 won silver in the K4 500m crew on Thursday.
The pair both grew up in South Africa but relocated to Australia to chase their Olympic dream.
"We've got the full set (gold, silver and bronze) - I'm so, so happy for my little brother," Jean said.
"I think that silver for me was as good as gold and I'm just so proud of him."
In the women's K2 500m on Friday New Zealand legend Lisa Carrington claimed her seventh Olympic gold, linking with Alica Hoskin.
Having being a part of the K4 Olympic champion crew a day earlier, the Kiwis again blew the field away to win by 2.11 seconds from Hungary, with a tie for bronze between Germany and a second Hungary crew.
Those three crews had a lengthy wait for a decision after a photo finish, with just 0.05 seconds splitting them all.
Australia's Aly Bull and Ella Beere crossed the line in seventh.
