Caster Semenya, whose middle-distance career could be under threat because of a new International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rule, romped to the fourth-fastest women’s 800m yet and Qatari Abderrahman Samba produced the second-best 400m hurdles yet in a sparkling Paris Diamond League meeting on Saturday. Semenya cruised home in a lifetime best 1:54.25 and the dominant Samba clocked 46.98 seconds for his fifth consecutive Diamond League win. Semenya, who is challenging a new hyperandrogenism rule by the IAAF, took nearly a second off her personal best as she claimed her 25th consecutive final win in the event. Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi was second in 1:55.86. "I did not expect that," Semenya, who ran without pacemakers, said. "I was thinking 1:54.99 could be possible but this was great." The IAAF rule, against which Olympic and world champion Semenya has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, would effectively give her a choice of taking medication to rest...
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