Caster Semenya sent an Olympics warning to her rivals in Doha on Friday with a world best time for this year in the 800m of 1 minute, 58.26 seconds, on a night otherwise dominated by Kenyan and US athletes.
In the first Diamond League meeting of the season, Semanya powered through the final 200m to confirmed her return to her best form.
In doubly bad news for her rivals in an Olympics year, the South African said afterward she had held back from running at full pace during the race.
Photo: AFP
“I am just quite happy with anything under two minutes,” she said. “We are just focused on the time. I had to hold back a bit as it wasn’t my pace. It’s all about running well in every race.”
Friday night’s time at the Qatar Sports Club Stadium would have been good enough for her to finish sixth at the 2012 London Olympics.
She seemed to labor through the first 500m and was well down the field as they approached the final bend.
Photo: EPA
However, she eased past her rivals to secure first place.
Ethiopia’s Habitam Alemu came second in a personal-best time of 1 minute, 59.14 seconds, while Eunice Jepkoech Sum was third in 1 minute, 59.74 seconds, a season’s best for the Kenyan.
Semenya said her early-season form was down to “hard work” and running free of a knee injury that has plagued her for some time.
The 25-year-old’s impressive victory came after an astonishing performance at home last month winning three races — the 400m, 800m and 1,500m — in one afternoon.
Elsewhere, it was Kenyan middle-distance runners who impressed. In the men’s 1,500m, three-time world champion Asbel Kiprop destroyed a high-class field to underline his stated intention to reclaim Olympic gold later this year.
The Kenyan cruised home by a margin of about 10m and even had time to wave to the crowd as he made his way down the final 50m.
Kiprop — also the 2008 1,500m Olympic champion — won in a time of 3 minutes, 32:15 seconds, more than a second-and-a-half ahead of fellow countrymen Elijah Manangoi and third-placed Silas Kiplagat.
The Kenyan 1-2-3 delighted thousands of fans among the crowd.
There was another Kenyan clean-sweep in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase.
Conseslus Kipruto, world champion silver medalist in 2013 and last year, won in a time of 8 minutes, 5.13 seconds, three seconds ahead of Jairus Kipchoge Birech and Abraham Kibiwott.
In total, eight Kenyans finished in the top 10 in the steeplechase.
Kenya hold their Olympics trials from June 14 to June 16.
It was also a good night for athletes from the US.
In the men’s 200m, Ameer Webb of the US won in a lifetime’s best of 19:85 seconds.
Compatriot Christian Taylor won the triple jump with a distance of 17.23m.
Meanwhile, American Tori Bowie beat Dafne Schippers and Veronica Campbell-Brown to win the women’s 100m.
Jamaica’s Omar McLoed won the 110m hurdles, with Olympic champion Aries Merritt, returning from a kidney transplant in September last year, running a season’s best 13.37 seconds.
“I am fine with that, every time I run I am setting a season’s best,” Merritt said afterward.
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