• Fri. Apr 19th, 2024

Caster Semenya Wins 5,000m Title in South African Athletics Championships

Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya says she will not attempt to qualify for the 200m at the Tokyo Olympics after defending her national 5,000m title in South Africa.

The 30-year-old won the title in 15 minutes 52.28 seconds – 42.48 seconds outside the Olympic qualifying time.

Semenya will be unable to defend her 800m title after a controversial World Athletics rule change around testosterone levels in female runners.

The qualifying deadline for Tokyo is 29 June.

The South Africn Athlete is a two-time Olympic champion in the 800m and won the 1,500m at the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

But under World Athletics rules, she is not allowed to compete in events between 400m and a mile unless she takes drugs to reduce her naturally high levels of testosterone.

BBC