Caster, Luvo fly the SA flag high

World champions Caster Semenya and Luvo Manyonga delivered superb performances on the international track and field circuit in the United States on Saturday, with both athletes securing impressive victories in their specialist disciplines on different continents.

Burning off the rest of the field at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday night, after winding up the pace on the second lap of the women’s 800m race, Semenya coasted home in 1:55.92.

She clocked the fastest time ever run on US soil, dipping under 1:56.00 for the eighth time in her career and crossing the line just 0.76 outside her national record.

“It was an amazing race,” said Semenya, who nearly clocked even splits after closing with a second lap of 57.99 seconds.

“I saw the split was 57 (at the bell) so I tried to maintain 57 again.”

Distance runner Dom Scott-Efurd, meanwhile, churned out another personal best with a fine effort at the top-flight meeting, finishing eighth in the women’s 5 000m race in 15:10.23 to slice nearly 10 seconds off her career record.

It was her second PB in the space of a week after Scott-Efurd clocked 4:07.20 over the 1 500m distance at the Boost Games in Boston seven days earlier.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Manyonga sailed to a convincing victory in the men’s long jump event at the Taiwan Open, spearheading a small South African contingent at the lower-tier meeting in Taipei.

Leaping 8.40m with his second attempt, with the benefit of a +2.7m/s tailwind, Manyonga finished well clear of his nearest opponent.

Local favourite Tzu Chi Lin took second place with a best effort of 8.05m.

With the international season well underway, Manyonga and Semenya were both showing dominant form.

Both athletes, who earned gold medals at the recent Commonwealth Games, held the 2018 world leads in their respective events, and both have gone unbeaten in outdoor contests this year.