Renaud Lavillenie slammed the lack of respect from the home crowd at Rio 2016 after he was beaten to the pole vault title by Brazil's Thiago Braz da Silva.
The Frenchman, who took gold in 2012, was jeered as he suffered a shock loss to the 22-year-old, who left it late in a rain-delayed competition to triumph with an Olympic record mark of 6.03 metres – the first time he had cleared 6m.
"It is the first time I saw this kind of crowd, I have competed in many, many competitions, in many, many countries and it is the first time everyone is against not only me, but all the pole vaulters apart from the Brazilian," said Lavillenie.
"There is no respect, there is no fair play. If we have no respect in the Olympics, where can we have have it?
"I am very, very sad and disappointed about the Brazilian public which was in the stadium."
Lavillenie apologised in his media conference for having earlier said that no such behaviour had been seen at an Olympics since the treatment American sprinter Jesse Owens received at Berlin 1936.
Da Silva's victory gave Brazil their first gold in the track and field at this year's Games and he sympathised with Lavillenie.
He said: "I tried to help him, to say to the people 'calm'. I think this helped a little bit, but I understand the people from Brazil, they want the guy from Brazil to win.
" They cannot control their emotions you know. I tried just to do my best and not think about Lavillenie or other people."
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