Semenya is SA’s golden girl
Caster surges to victory with a lifetime best time of 1min 55.16sec
London — Caster Semenya powered to victory in the 800m final at the World Championships here on Sunday night to take the gold medal ahead of Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi and Ajee Wilson of the US. Semenya, who is the Olympic champion, clocked 1min 55.16sec for a lifetime best. She now has three gold medals at World Championships, following wins at the 2009 and 2011 events. Lebogang Shange battled bravely in the 20km race walk on Sunday, but he was unable to clinch a medal as he got pushed into fourth. Known for his strong finishes, Shange had the consolation of knocking 48sec off his national record as he crossed the line in 1hr 19min 18sec, just 14sec off the podium. That is the first national mark to fall at the showpiece, which ended on Sunday night. Shange was in 20th place at the halfway mark, 25sec behind the leader, and 2km later he attacked. "The plan was to relax, just pass my first 10km in 40:30, but I was still fresh, I passed in 40.13 so I thought I can beat my time, th...
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