By Neil Silver, PA Sport, Paris

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Kelly Holmes has hit back at accusations that she and training partner Maria Mutola "fixed" Tuesday night's World Championship 800 metres races so that they won the silver and gold medals respectively.

Bronze medallist Natalya Khrushchelyova of Russia claimed "Mutola obviously helped her friend and I couldn't get past them," but Holmes laughed off such a "ridiculous" notion because she believes it was impossible to arrange the outcome of a World Championship final.

"Unless Maria tied a rope around me and pulled me along, what extra help can she give me?" asked Holmes.

"You have to be realistic and say that I have to run the race, and I am not stopping anybody from going past me running their own race and going as fast as they want to go.

"This is always going to happen because you have got two people in that race who train together, but Maria didn't put out her arms to stop people going past her and let me go off ahead.

"In fact, I looked at the photos of the race and if the Russian had been fast enough she could have come on my inside lane because I moved out without realising.

"So if she really had it in her to run past me then there was nothing stopping her from beating me in that race.

"She would have known we train together and therefore we would have spoken about the race, but that race was slow and the Russian is an ex-400 metres runner so surely she should have just gone - you have to run your own race.

"There were five other people in that race and irrespective of what Maria or I decided what was best for us, they had a right to go for their own medal as well. The best thing for any of them would have been to try and beat us.

"The other issue is that we are from two different countries. Had we both been Kenyan or Ethiopian then we all know that they run together and help each other, but Maria is from Mozambique and I am from Great Britain and it hasn't happened before whereby two world class athletes who are rivals also train together."

Holmes suggested that instead of questioning the race tactics, other people such as the Russian should pay her the respect she deserves for her outstanding performance.

"It gets to you and at the end of the day I wish people would respect what I try to achieve," said Holmes. "I don't ask anything of anyone, I do it myself to try and realise my own dreams and ambitions.

"Instead of people being happy that two team-mates got a gold and silver, they say we had a gameplan. We were just two people in a race, we had our own game plans, and if they happen to fit together then that's perfect."

Holmes opted out of the 1,500 metres - whose heats started today - on the advice of coach Margo Jennings but revealed she would have doubled up had she had more time to recover.

"Margo said I have had a rough year with injury and I have not had the preparation I would have liked," she explained. "If I'd had another rest day I would have gone for it because I feel fine and feel I am coming into my running, and I could have relaxed and re-focused and gone for the 1,500m because I have got my confidence back.

"However, we decided it was best that I leave on a high rather than risk something going wrong in the 1,500m and then thinking 'did I really need to do it'."