South African runner Caster Semenya produced a devastating sprint finish to claim the Olympic 800m crown, four years after being denied gold by Russian dope cheat Mariya Savinova.
The 25-year-old 2012 silver medalist turned on the gas with 150m to go, crossing the line more than 1.20 seconds clear in 1 minute, 55.28 seconds at the Olympic Stadium.
Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi took silver in 1 minute, 56.49 seconds, with Kenya’s Margaret Wambui claiming bronze in 1 minute, 56.89 seconds.
Photo: AP
“I used to be a sprinter, I ran the 100m, 200m in high school,” Semenya said of her finish. “It was just a fantastic race. Obviously, there can only be one winner and it turned out good for me. It wasn’t about running fast, it was about running a good race.”
Semenya has been at the center of controversy in recent years because of her naturally occurring condition, hyperandrogenism, which causes elevated testosterone levels.
Hours before Saturday’s final, International International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president Sebastian Coe indicated that the world body would seek to revisit regulations regarding testosterone levels.
Semenya would not be drawn on the issue.
“Tonight is all about performances,” she said. “We’re not here to talk about the IAAF. We’re not here to talk about speculations. We’re here to talk about the 800m that we ran today.”
Semenya never looked in trouble, biding her time after a 57.59-second opening lap.
Niyonsaba hit the front with about 300m to go, but Semenya was always within striking distance.
With 150m left she made her move, calmly accelerating clear to take the lead as the race for silver and bronze unfolded behind her.
Canada’s Melissa Bishop dug deep in the home stretch, but was just pipped for bronze by Wambui.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
RSS