Semenya going for gold tonight

NWU-Pukke star athletes Caster Semenya stayed in the hunt for a double-medal haul at the IAAF World Championships on Friday evening, booking her place in Sunday’s final in London, England.

After securing bronze in the 1 500m event a few days earlier, she remained the firm favourite for the two-lap title after progressing as the fastest qualifier (1:58.90) in the penultimate round.

“The main thing for us now is that we have a strong field, but we’ll just try to relax as much as we can so we can do better in the final,” Semenya said.

“But you can’t tell much, you can’t underestimate your opponents, you can’t calculate or measure them. It’s just about trying to enjoy your race.”

After putting up a gutsy fight in the heats, Gena Lofstrand’s campaign came to an end.

Lofstrand, the only other SA athlete taking part on day eight, was eighth in her semifinal in 2:03.67 and she was unable to progress to the final.

The 800 metres women’s final starts at 21:10 on Supersport 8 (208)