CASTER SEMENYA

ATHLETICS

FEW athletes will head into the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in better form than South African star Caster Semenya.

The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games 800m gold medallist dominated the recent South African national titles, claiming both the 800m and 1500m titles.

Semenya cruised to gold in the 800m, with her run of 1:57.80 officially her fastest time in South Africa. That stunning effort came after strong performances in the 800m heats and an equally impressive victory in the 1500m final at 4:10.68.

Her heroics at her home championships came as little surprise, with Semenya bringing home a bronze in the 1500m and more gold in the 800m at last year’s world championships in London.

While Semenya will be a raging favourite to add to her glittering resume the South African will face some stiff competition from the likes of Ugandan hopeful Docus Ajok and Australia’s 800m national women’s champion Brittany McGowan.

Ajok (2:00.02) and McGowan (2:00.24) are owners of the third and fourth best times in the 800m event this year, with New Zealand’s Angela Petty (2:00.73) rounding out the top five. This trio will certainly keep Semenya on her toes at the Gold Coast but with two performances under two minutes this year it will take an remarkable effort to dethrone South Africa’s 800m queen.