Canada's Melissa Bishop reacts to her fourth place finish in the women's 800-metre final behind South Africa's gold medallist Caster Semenya at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 20, 2016.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Melissa Bishop set a new Canadian record in the 800 metres, but fell short of the podium as she lost a heated battle for third place in the homestretch.
A dejected Bishop, who came to Rio de Janeiro hoping for a medal, fought back tears afterward as she spoke about the race.
"This racing, it's all going to come down to the last 50-metres. So much opens up there, so it was expected that everybody would be there," Bishop said.
"I just didn't think it was going to turn out like that."
South African Caster Semenya won gold in a time of 1:55.28 seconds, while Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi claimed silver in 1:56.49. Margaret Nyairera Wambui of Kenya took the bronze in 1:56.89, which was 0.13 ahead of Bishop.
Bishop's time of 1:57.02 beat her personal best by 0.41. But the Canadian record was no solace for Bishop, who struggled to explain how she felt after.
"Defeated, obviously. We work so hard for this stuff that fourth really sucks," she said.
Bishop, who is from Eganville, Ont., entered the race with the sixth-best qualifying time and was in third or fourth place for much of the last lap.
"We got out, I think hard, I don't know," Bishop said. "The plan was just to get the lead and try and respond as smoothly as possible. So I mean, we did what we could."
Bishop would not address questions about her competitors, or the controversy that has dogged the 800-metre competition with Semenya at the heart of it.
Some athletes have questioned whether Semenya should be allowed to compete because of a condition called hyperandrogenism, which gives her elevated testosterone levels.
It is a sensitive matter for the sport. Some competitors want the rules changed to address testosterone limits, while others have defended Semenya's right to race.
Shortly after Bishop's disappointment in the 800-metres, the Canadian women's 4x400 relay team also just missed the podium, finishing fourth with a time of 3:26.43.
The United States won gold with a time of 3:19.06, while Jamaica took silver in 3:20.34. Great Britain claimed the bronze in 3:25.88.
Grant Robertson