Semenya blitzes 34- year- old record
Gold Coast, April 10: Caster Semenya smashed Zola Budd’s long- standing South African 1,500 metres record at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday as her dominance on the track continued to be dogged by controversy off it.
Semenya, who has elevated levels of male sex hormones, made her move on the last lap, overtaking Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech on the final bend and accelerating away to win in 4min 0.71sec. The 27- year- old’s victory by more than two seconds sliced 1.1sec off Budd’s 1984 South African record and earned Semenya her first Commonwealth medal, to go with her swathe of Olympic and world titles over 800m.
But Semenya has long endured scrutiny over her hyperandrogenism and this week, Australian 800m runner Brittany McGowan raised familiar concerns. Her win comes with her future again clouded after the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended the IAAF’s hyperandrogenism regulations, which now look set to be changed. However, she is now eyeing the world record in the 800m, in which she will be hot favourite when the heats start on Thursday.
Elsewhere, Botswana’s Isaac Makwala won the 400m in 44.35sec, Grenada’s Lindon Victor won the decathlon and New Zealand’s Julia Ratcliffe hurled 69.94m to take hammer gold.
Jamaican debutant Ronald Levy outstripped Hansle Parchment to win the 110m hurdles in 13.19, while Kimberly Williams and Shanieka Ricketts formed another Jamaican one- two in the triple jump.
In the pool, Australia rounded off a golden meet with a haul of six victories, while Taylor Ruck, 17, finished with a record- equalling eight medals when she anchored Canada to silver in the women’s 4x100m medley relay.
The oldest competitor in the Games’ history, as well as a girl thought to be the youngest, both drew attention as they took part in shooting and table tennis respectively.
Bob Pitcairn, a 79- yearold former pilot, came a respectable eighth of 16 in the Queen’s Prize Pairs finals fullbore shooting while 11- yearold Anna Hursey completed her table tennis debut, bowing out of the women’s singles against Malaysia’s Alice Chang Li Sian.