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Sports / Athletics

Semenya makes final bid for worlds berth

Published: 25 Jul 2013 - 02:50 am | Last Updated: 31 Jan 2022 - 11:57 am

CAPE TOWN:  Former world 800 metre champion Caster Semenya will make one final bid to qualify for next month’s world championships when she races in Belgium on Sunday.

The South African will compete just 24 hours before the deadline set for her to break the two-minute barrier required for participation at the August 10-18 competition in Moscow.

Having spent almost a year away from the track with injury since winning silver at the 2012 London Olympics, Semenya has already had two unsuccessful attempts to reach her target when she clocked 2:06.58 and 2:04.48 in Finland last week.

The 22-year-old rose to global recognition after winning the 2009 world championships in Berlin in a personal best time of 1:55.45 but then spent 12 months on the sidelines after being forced to undergo gender tests.  

Semenya also took the silver medal in Daegu, South Korea when she defended her world title. REUTERS