fall at the last hurdle

Etymology
Probably from hurdling, a type of horse racing where horses jump over obstacles called hurdles. The term refers to a horse successfully clearing all but the last hurdle.

Verb

 * 1)  To fail near the end of an activity, a project, etc.

Translations

 * Chinese: ;
 * Finnish: hyytyä viime metreillä
 * Macedonian:
 * Polish: ponosić porażkę na końcu, ponieść porażkę na końcu
 * Portuguese: morrer na praia
 * Spanish: quedarse a la puerta
 * Swedish: falla på målsnöret