Caster Semenya beats Cape Doctor to clock personal best
23 March 2022 - 20:20
byDAVID ISAACSON
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There could be only one winner as Caster Semenya, the former two-time Olympic 800m champion, clocked a personal best in the 3,000m at a blustery Green Point Stadium in Cape Town on Wednesday night.
She clocked 8 min 54.97 sec to knock nearly 10 sec off her best of 9:04.20 from 2021 and leapfrog up the all-time SA rankings to sixth place.
The crowd roared loudly on her final lap, encouraging her to break the 9 min barrier. Her agent, Lee-Roy Newton, said last week that she was aiming for Zola Budd’s 2,000m national record, but the strong southeaster that covered Table Mountain in a cloth made that impossible.
Her time, however, suggested she is on target for a 15:10.00 qualifying time in the 5,000m for the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, later in 2022.
“I’m thereabouts,” she said. “If it happens, it happens,” she added, saying she is more focused on the African championships in June.
Other athletes struggled with the wind.
In the men’s 110m hurdles, Antonio Alkana felt the force of the southeaster in his chest each time he left the ground, edging Ruann de Vries by six-hundredths of a second.
But Alkana clocked just 14.02 sec in a stadium that, for him, enjoyed the most spectators he’d seen in a local arena since 2018.
“I don’t think that was a Cape Town wind,” he joked afterwards. “Somebody brought that wind down with them.”
“Duracell” de Vries, who at 36 has no intention of retiring, argued the wind hit him harder. “I’m not used to the wind. Antonio is used to training in the wind every day, he knows what to expect.”
Zeney van der Walt won the women’s 400m hurdles in 56.02, a time she was happy with under the circumstances.
“It was tough, but everybody runs in the same wind.”
Soks Zazini won the men’s race in 49.67 and afterwards believed he might have beaten his 48.73 personal best in calmer conditions.
Zazini, a Tokyo Olympian, aims to break 48 this season. “We are working on that.”
The competitors in the men’s 200m had to run into the teeth of the wind, which was measured at -3.3mps for most of their race, won by Benji Richardson in 21.08.
The athletes will probably be hoping the wind dies down by the national championships on the same track in April.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Caster Semenya beats Cape Doctor to clock personal best
There could be only one winner as Caster Semenya, the former two-time Olympic 800m champion, clocked a personal best in the 3,000m at a blustery Green Point Stadium in Cape Town on Wednesday night.
She clocked 8 min 54.97 sec to knock nearly 10 sec off her best of 9:04.20 from 2021 and leapfrog up the all-time SA rankings to sixth place.
The crowd roared loudly on her final lap, encouraging her to break the 9 min barrier. Her agent, Lee-Roy Newton, said last week that she was aiming for Zola Budd’s 2,000m national record, but the strong southeaster that covered Table Mountain in a cloth made that impossible.
Her time, however, suggested she is on target for a 15:10.00 qualifying time in the 5,000m for the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, later in 2022.
“I’m thereabouts,” she said. “If it happens, it happens,” she added, saying she is more focused on the African championships in June.
Other athletes struggled with the wind.
In the men’s 110m hurdles, Antonio Alkana felt the force of the southeaster in his chest each time he left the ground, edging Ruann de Vries by six-hundredths of a second.
But Alkana clocked just 14.02 sec in a stadium that, for him, enjoyed the most spectators he’d seen in a local arena since 2018.
“I don’t think that was a Cape Town wind,” he joked afterwards. “Somebody brought that wind down with them.”
“Duracell” de Vries, who at 36 has no intention of retiring, argued the wind hit him harder. “I’m not used to the wind. Antonio is used to training in the wind every day, he knows what to expect.”
Zeney van der Walt won the women’s 400m hurdles in 56.02, a time she was happy with under the circumstances.
“It was tough, but everybody runs in the same wind.”
Soks Zazini won the men’s race in 49.67 and afterwards believed he might have beaten his 48.73 personal best in calmer conditions.
Zazini, a Tokyo Olympian, aims to break 48 this season. “We are working on that.”
The competitors in the men’s 200m had to run into the teeth of the wind, which was measured at -3.3mps for most of their race, won by Benji Richardson in 21.08.
The athletes will probably be hoping the wind dies down by the national championships on the same track in April.
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