Caster Semenya was defiant in every way at what very well could be her last 800 meter race. Her raised fist at the start. Her…
Caster Semenya was defiant in every way at what very well could be her last 800 meter race.
Her raised fist at the start. Her unstoppable victory. And with her reply Friday to the big question of whether she will now submit to new testosterone regulations in track and field and take hormone-reducing medication.
“Hell no,” the Olympic champion from South Africa said.
Semenya responded to her defeat in a landmark court case against track and field’s governing body two days earlier with a resounding win in a place where she’s done nothing but win the last four years — over two laps of the track.
She won the 800 meters at the opening Diamond League meeting of the season in Doha, Qatar, with a meet record of 1 minute, 54.98 seconds. It was her fourth-fastest time ever. The only person ahead of her at any time during the race was the pacemaker.
Semenya’s nearest challenger, the Olympic silver medalist Francine Niyonsaba, was nearly three seconds and about 20 meters behind her — barely in the picture. Ajee Wilson of the United States was third.
It was Semenya’s first 800 meter race this year and first since losing her case against the IAAF this week.
