Uncorking a new South African 800 metres record, Caster Semenya continued her “shock and awe” campaign at Friday night’s Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
Requesting a pace-setter for the race, Semenya made her intentions clear by unleashing her fastest time when crossing the line in one minute and 55.33 seconds.
It was a significant feat for the South African, shaving 0.12sec off her previous best she set in her world-title winning run at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin in 2009.
“I was expecting to run under 1:56, I am looking forward to gold in Rio,” Semenya told the Diamond League website. “You have to believe in yourself and that’s what I did today. I dedicate it to my training and hard work for this PB. I’m pleased for myself, my coach and my family.”
Her time is the 12th fastest in women’s 800m history and edging her closer to the exclusive 1:55 club of six athletes led by Czech world record-holder Jarmila Kratochvilova.
Running the fastest time in eight years, Semenya seems to be ready to drop an even bigger bomb at the Rio Games which she had indicated would include doing the 400-800m double.
Her performance on Friday was impressively measured going through the 400m in 56.4s and coasting past 600m in 1:27.08.
With 200 metres left in the race, Semenya still had Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba and Margaret Wambui breathing down her neck. She outclassed the chasing women in the sprint finish clocking 28.25s over the final half-a-lap and in the process dragging Niyonsaba over the line in a new national record of 1:56.24.
Wambui was later disqualified for running out of her line over the first bend with compatriot and former world champion Eunice Sum promoted to third place with her time of 1:57.47.
Semenya’s blistering run pulled four of her competitors to season’s and personal best times.
Meanwhile, world 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk celebrated his 24th birthday in style with a comfortable victory in a time of 44.12s, just 0.01s off his season’s best.
Van Niekerk oozed confidence and control winning his race well ahead of the field with Trinidad and Tobago’s Machel Cedenio crossing the line in second place with 44.34s, and Bralon Taplin of Grenada bagging bronze in 44.38s.
“Hopefully by the time the Olympics comes, I will be ready. It’s a blessing to celebrate my birthday here. My family is here and I thank the organisers for allowing them to come,” Van Niekerk told the Diamond League website.
Joint national women’s 100m record-holder Carina Horn claimed a confidence-boosting bronze medal in the short sprint with a time of 11.14s.
Horn had a superb start and came painstakingly close to beating Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica.
Campbell-Brown finished 0.02s ahead of Horn with world 200m champion Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands winning in 10.94s.
It was an otherwise underwhelming evening for the rest of the South African contingent with long jump ace Ruswahl Samaai finishing fourth with a best leap of 7.93m.
Women’s 400m hurdler Wenda Nel also had to settle for fourth place with her time of 54.93s while Sunette Viljoen finished in fifth place in the women’s javelin throw with a best heave of 60.17m.
Making her Diamond League debut, Dominique Scott posted a personal best 8:46.65 in the women’s 3?000m which is fifth on the South African all-time list.
The country’s top 110m hurdler Antonio Alkana was in seventh-place in a time of 13.66s.
The Sunday Independent