Team GB runner Lynsey Sharp was at the centre of a row over so-called intersex athletes last night after tearfully admitting it was "difficult" competing against them at Rio 2016.
Sharp, who came sixth after Caster Semenya powered to victory in the women's 800m, appeared to criticise recent law reforms allowing runners avoid testosterone-suppressants.
She was forced to clarify that she had "tremendous respect" for Semenya after earlier fighting back tears as she told the BBC: "The public can see how difficult it is with the change of rule but all we can do is give it our best."
Semenya, a South African with levels of testosterone three times higher than that of the average woman, was able to compete without suppressants after the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended regulations on "hyperandrogenism" in a case last July.
Caster Semenya destroys rest of the field to claim easy gold Play! 00:17
Silver medalist Francine Niyonsaba and Margaret Wambui, who got a bronze, have also faced questions about their testosterone levels in recent reports.
Sharp has more reason than most to understand the debate, having written a dissertation on the subject while studying law at Napier University.
She was forced to wipe away tears as she said after the race: “I have tried to avoid the issue all year. You can see how emotional it all was. We know how each other feels.
"It is out of our control and how much we rely on people at the top sorting it out. The public can see how difficult it is with the change of rule but all we can do is give it our best."
Sharp, 26, who ran a personal best 1min 57.69secs, hinted that her feelings are shared by fellow athletes Melissa Bishop of Canada and Poland’s Joanna Jozwik, who also missed out on medals.
Caster Semenya (R) of South Africa reacts next to Melissa Bishop (L) of Canada and Lynsey Sharp (C) of Britain after winning the women's 800m final of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Athletics, Track and Field events at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20 August 2016.
Although achieving her personal best, Sharp came sixth in the 800m final Credit: EPA
The three hugged together after the finish in what Sharp said was a show of unity. “We see each other week in, week out, so we know how each other feel,” she said.
In a reference to questions surrounding the sex of other competitors, British 400m runner Nigel Levine tweeted afterwards: "Happy for @LynseySharp for coming 3rd in the women 800m."
However, Sharp later clarified her comments after facing criticism. She said in a statement on Twitter that "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Caster", before adding: "I gave an honest and diplomatic response."
Semenya, who reportedly has internal testes but no womb or ovaries due to an abnormality, has been dominating middle-distance running since a ruling which previously forced her to take drugs to cut her testosterone was overturned.
Last week, Sebastian Coe indicated the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) would challenge the Court of Arbitration ruling which suspended the monitoring of female athletes with higher than usual levels of testosterone.
But others have launched a #handsoffcaster campaign online as a human rights debate rages on her continued involvement.
Sharp has previously claimed it is an unfair advantage that everyone else has had to accept. “I’ve obviously known Caster since 2008," she said before Rio. "I did my dissertation on it at uni so I know a lot about the subject. But now is not the time to get involved in all that. I can’t do anything about that. It’s up to people higher up. Nothing’s going to change before the competition and it’s the situation we’re in.”
Before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Sharp told The Daily Telegraph, there were "obvious" athletes with heightened testosterone amid rumours that there were two more competitors were "intersex" in last night's final. “Everyone can see it’s two separate races so there’s nothing I can do,” she said earlier this summer.
Semenya, meanwhile, refused to discuss the issue which has dogged her since 2009, when she was forced to take a humiliating sex test three hours before she landed the world title.
In London 2012, Caster was forced to take testosterone-suppressing medication to comply with the rules of the athletics' world governing body, the IAAF. But last year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended the IAAF's rules on hyperandrogenism for two years.
