(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 3, 2019 South Africa’s Caster Semenya competes in the women’s 800m during the IAAF Diamond League competition in Doha. Switzerland’s top court said on 3 June 2019 it had temporarily suspended IAAF rules that oblige athletes including double Olympic champion Caster Semenya to lower her testosterone levels in order to compete in certain events. Photo: AFP/Karim Jaafar
Semenya surges to victory on Diamond League return
Caster Semenya delivered another world class 800 metre run on her return to her favoured distance at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Stanford.
(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 3, 2019 South Africa’s Caster Semenya competes in the women’s 800m during the IAAF Diamond League competition in Doha. Switzerland’s top court said on 3 June 2019 it had temporarily suspended IAAF rules that oblige athletes including double Olympic champion Caster Semenya to lower her testosterone levels in order to compete in certain events. Photo: AFP/Karim Jaafar
After a legal tug-of-war with the IAAF Caster Semenya returned to 800-metre action at the Diamond League meeting in Stanford, USA and won.
Semenya has endured a disrupted season due to ongoing efforts by the IAAF to see her banned from competition for what the athletic body deems unacceptably high levels of testosterone, or submit to a doping regimen in order to allow her to continue to compete as a woman.
The South African middle-distance athlete has indicated that she will continue to fight the IAAF and has stressed that wherever possible she will endeavour to further her running career.
Semenya has never lost an 800m race in 30 Diamond League appearances a streak she extended in her last outing in the season opening meet in Doha.
Headed into the meeting in Connecticut, Semenya sported a season best time fully four seconds faster than her closest rival in the field that lined uo on Sunday 30 June 2019.
The main challenge was expected to come from the United States’ Ajee Wilson and Ethiopian runner Habitam Alemu while young Jamaican runner Natoya Goule was an outside shot.
Semenya’s mark of 1:54.98 in Doha remains the fastest time of the season for any woman over 800 metres and despite the disruptions to her programme she started the event as the clear favourite.
The Olympic gold medalist lined up in lane 8 against a modest field and started strongly settling in behind pacemaker Chrishuna Williams. In the second 400 metres and began to stretch her lead with 200 metres to go.
Semenya won her third successive Diamond League title in Stanford in a time of 1:55:70.
Full results
| Place | Athlete | Affiliation | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caster SEMENYA | 7 Jan 1991 | South Africa | 1:55.70 | |
| 2 | Ajee WILSON | 8 May 1994 | United States | 1:58.36 | |
| 3 | Raevyn ROGERS | 7 Sep 1996 | United States | 1:58.65 | |
| 4 | Hanna GREEN | 16 Oct 1994 | United States | 1:58.75 | |
| 5 | Habitam ALEMU | 9 Jul 1997 | Ethiopia | 1:59.25 | |
| 6 | Natoya GOULE | 30 Mar 1991 | Jamaica | 1:59.82 | |
| 7 | Chunyu WANG | 17 Jan 1995 | PR of China | 2:05.68 | |
| 8 | Nataliya PRISHCHEPA | 11 Sep 1994 | Ukraine | 2:50.33 | |
| Chrishuna WILLIAMS | 31 Mar 1993 | United States | DNF |
