Watch: Lynsey Sharp defends comments on how difficult it is to race against gender row athlete Caster Semenya

After the race Sharp said the decision to overturn rules on testosterone suppression made competing against the women’s Olympic 800m champion and other hyperandrogenic athletes difficult.

Hyperandrogenism is a condition where levels of testosterone are elevated above an arbitrary level in women, giving them characteristics found far more commonly in men.

After being criticised by some as a "sore loser", she has now moved to clarify that she had "tremendous respect" for Semenya and saying her remarks were an "honest and diplomatic response".

The South African had made a return to form after the court of arbitration for sport overturned a rule created by the International Association of Athletics Federations which had forced athletes with naturally high levels of testosterone to take hormone-suppressing drugs.

Sharp said after finishing her 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.

“I was coming down the home straight, we were not far away and you can see how close it is. That is encouraging. We will work hard and aim to come back even stronger.”

Sharp, who ran a personal best 1min 57.69sec, indicated her views were shared by her fellow athletes Melissa Bishop of Canada and Poland’s Joanna Jozwik, who also missed out on medals.

The three embraced after the finish in what Sharp indicated was a show of unity. “We see each other week in, week out, so we know how each other feel," she said.

On her own performance, Sharp added: “I’ll have to watch it back. I feel a bit disappointed. I had a lot left at the end but I don’t know if that means I ran it right or had too much left. I came through strong at the end, that was good, but we shall see.”

But her comments were condemned in certain quarters on social media. Kiri Rupiah, a columnist with the South Africa national daily newspaper Mail and Guardian criticised Sharp's comments in an article headlined: "Dear Caster hater: One lick of the mediocrity lollipop and you'll suck forever."

Rupiah added: "Among the criticisms levelled against Sharp is her forgetfulness – Sharp finished sixth. Even if the top three athletes are removed, Sharp still finished sixth. There were two runners ahead of her. "

Sharp later said as Rio 2016 drew to a close: "I have a tremendous amount of respect for Caster. She is someone who I talk to regularly on the circuit.

"I have known and competed against her since 2008. "Media and politics should not distract from her performance. "When asked on live TV, I felt I gave an honest and diplomatic response. I refused to answer questions from any other media on the topic.

"As you can imagine, it's frustrating to finish a race to be asked about your competitor's performance."

During her law degree at Edinburgh’s Napier University, Sharp wrote a paper on on hyperandrogenism and legal issues it posed and the former European champion has previously complained Semenya's condition resulted in 'two separate races'.

Sharp added: "What a week! Sixth in the Olympic final with a PB [personal best] and Scottish record!

"The mindset of an athlete is always to strive for more than you achieve.

"I would have been disappointed with anything other than a medal last night, something which was always going to be difficult in such a strong field. "But to run faster than I ever have before in the Olympic final is the best I could do. I have come a long way in the last four years. I'm incredibly proud of that."