CYCLIST Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio bravely wrestled a final medal for Team South Africa yesterday, outsprinting Australia's Tiffany Cromwell for the women's road race bronze.

The day before SA hopefuls had been beaten into fourth spot on three occasions - the women's hockey team, Johan Cronje in the 1500m and the men's 4x100m relay team - and Moolman-Pasio looked as if she would suffer the same fate when Cromwell attacked her hard in the final charge for the line.

It was so close that even Moolman-Pasio thought she had lost the tussle, but a photo-finish showed that her front wheel had got there by half a tyre.

"I thought I finished fourth and then I was told by my team that I finished third. I couldn't believe it," she beamed.

"It was very close on the line. It was a great race with a great crowd."

Ironically, the Aussie initially reckoned she had done enough. "I thought I had it," said Cromwell. "With my sprint I thought I would get Ashleigh, but I also knew that she had a bit of a kick."

Team SA ended the Games with a total of 40 medals, their second-best haul behind the 46 they won at Manchester 2002, and not far behind the target of 43.

Their tally featured 13 gold, their highest of the post-isolation era, but their ranking dropped to seventh on the medals table, from fifth at Delhi 2010 and Melbourne 2006.

There are also areas of concern, like the dearth of black and female stars.