Caster Semenya: Diamond League 800m race time and TV stream for Sunday

Caster Semenya returns to the 800m at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting on Sunday with the athletics world wondering if it may well be her last race over the distance.

The two-time Olympic champion has not raced in the event she has dominated since 2015 since scorching to a world-leading 1min 54.98sec in Doha on 3 May 2019.

Switzerland’s top court had temporarily suspended IAAF rules that oblige female athletes, including South Africa’s double Olympic champion Caster, Semenya to lower their testosterone levels in order to compete in certain events.

Judges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport had previously ruled that the rules were “discriminatory” but found, in a split decision, that they were “necessary” to ensure fairness in women’s athletics.

The matter is expected to drag on for some time. That has pretty much been the theme of this entire saga, as our explainer detailed following the ruling by CAS.

Semenya’s outing came just days after the South African star lost a court challenge against International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rules forcing female athletes to regulate their testosterone levels.

The Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport said while it feared the IAAF regulations were “discriminatory”, the measures were “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” to preserve the integrity of female athletics.

Semenya successfully obtained an injunction against the introduction of the new IAAF rules on June 3 after a ruling by the Swiss Federal Tribunal, pending a full hearing.

With no final decision from the court expected until next month at the earliest, it means Semenya is free to run in the 800m at Stanford, which is hosting the Prefontaine as the meeting’s usual venue at Eugene, Oregon, undergoes renovations ahead of the 2021 World Athletics Championships.

If the Swiss tribunal eventually upholds the earlier CAS ruling, Sunday’s race at Cobb Track & Angell Field could well turn out to be Semenya’s last outing in an event in which she has not lost for four years.

Semenya had initially entered the 3000m at the Prefontaine but instead will now line up in an 800m that she will be expected to win with ease.

Semenya has been almost four seconds quicker over the distance this year over her nearest rival in Sunday’s race, Ajee Wilson of the United States, a winner in the Stockholm Diamond League on 30 May.

Caster Semenya: Prefontaine Diamond League race time and how to watch

SuperSport 8 will broadcast the event on both their live stream and on TV. You’ll need a subscription to watch. Coverage will begin at 22:00 on 30 June 2019. Highlights of the race should be available soon after.

The Diamond League has the time listed as 13:47 in the USA on 30 June 2019. That’s 22:47 South African time – so stay tuned.