Michael East saw his medal celebrations cut short when he was disqualified after finishing third in the 1500m at the World Indoor Championships.
East fought all the way and briefly led the field just before the bell.
He was overtaken by eventual winner Paul Korir of Kenya and Ivan Heshko of Ukraine, who took silver, in the closing stages.
But he went wide to hold off Laban Rotich and the Kenyan was awarded bronze after his appeal was upheld.
"It must be the worst possible scenario thinking you have the medal then losing it," said East.
"The only way to take the Kenyan was to push him into the barrier," he said.
East's disqualification meant fellow Briton James Thie was promoted to fifth after clocking three minutes 53.36 seconds.