Caster Semenya has insisted she was racing flat out for gold after finishing second in the 800 metres at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday.
BBC pundit Colin Jackson suggested the 21 year-old South African might have been reluctant to cause another media storm by winning, having been thrust into the spotlight at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin when a row over her gender overshadowed her victory.
Semenya ran a bizarre race at the Olympic Stadium, staying at the back of the field for the whole first circuit before finishing strongly to win silver in 1min 57.23sec.
She left her kick far too late to catch Russia's Mariya Savinova, who was away and gone down the home straight to win in 1-56.19.
But the former world champion, who underwent gender tests after her Berlin win, claimed she just got her tactics wrong.
"The plan was to win gold," she said "Unfortunately I made a wrong move and it was too late to kick.
"I am very happy with silver. I just have to work hard over the next four years to win in Rio because every athlete's goal is to win a gold medal.
"The plan was to win gold, but I am happy at my first Olympics to be on the podium. I am still young. If I focus on training hard I can achieve more.
"You learn by mistakes and next time we'll do better. I tried hard to get back there, but the body wasn't really on fire today. I had to fight until the end.
"I see a pretty good future for me. The most important thing is to train, I just have to focus on my career and forget about the past."
Savinova, who beat Semenya to the world title last year, was also surprised by how Semenya ran her race.
"She (Savinova) told me I did a good job, but why did I move so late," said Semenya.
"She was expecting more of me after the semi-final. But you never know what's going to happen in a race."
By Telegraph Sport
Source: www.dailytelegraph.co.uk
