Rodriguez says lost gold medal due to 'tactical mistake'

Spain's Natalia Rodriguez blamed a "tactical mistake" for her disqualification as the winner of the women's 1,500 metres at the World Championships in Berlin on Sunday.

"I am disappointed in myself because deep down I believe I made a tactical mistake," the teary-eyed 30-year-old told reporters as she arrived at Madrid's Barajas airport.

Rodriguez was judged by the race referee to have pushed over Ethiopian Gelete Burka down the back straight as runners jockeyed for position going into the final curve, leaving reigning world champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal, of Bahrain, to retain her crown.

Rodriguez said the hardest part of the incident was being jeered by the audience after Burka fell to the ground.

"It was very hard, I wanted to hide. I have no more tears to shed. Now I feel a bit better but at first I could not sleep. I had to go out for a walk around the city because I could not sleep," she said.

On Monday, while still in Germany, she sounded a more defiant note, insisting in an interview with Spain's radio Marca that she did nothing wrong and was "robbed" of her gold medal.

"It was clear that I was going to win, they robbed me (of my victory). It was the Ethiopian who closed in on me. There was a shock and she fell," she told the radio station.