KINGSTON, Jamaica — German athlete Cindy Roleder has described as a “misunderstanding”, social media posts which have portrayed her in an unsportsmanlike manner.

Following the finals of the women’s 100m hurdles at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, on Friday, Roleder seemingly brushed aside Jamaica’s Shermaine Williams’ hand after the Jamaican attempted to congratulate her on her silver-medal run.

Social media users chastised Roleder, insisting her behaviour was not sportsmanlike.

In her defence, Roleder posted the following to her Facebook page:?”After I had realized that I won the silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Beijing, yesterday, I was extremely – it was such a massive surprise to me. Today I read in several Facebook posts and comments that people have been disappointed or even shocked because of the way I reacted to Shermaine Williams’ offer of a handshake afterwards, accusing me of refusing it.

“This is a big misunderstanding. I would like to set the record straight: I simply haven’t noticed her in this overwhelming moment. I have seen the TV footage, and to be honest it doesn’t look very good. But again, this is a big misunderstanding.

“As the pictures also show, I was completely focused on congratulating my friend Alina Talay on her bronze medal. I congratulate Shermaine Williams and all the other athletes who have participated in this great final. I hope you accept my apology. Best regards, Cindy.”

However, even after her attempt to explain what happened in her Facebook post, social media users were not amused and insisted that she had snubbed Williams.