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The South African track star won comfortably in the end after pacing her run perfectly.
First placed Prudence Sekgodiso of Team South Africa celebrates winning the women's 800m final on day three of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso raced to gold in the women’s 800m final at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Nanjing, China, on Sunday.
The 23-year-old timed her charge brilliantly in the four-lap race, having first hung back in third place and then charging to the front with just over 100m to go.
She crossed the finish line in 1:58:40, a world-leading time, to win the first gold medal ever for South Africa at the indoor championships.
Ethiopia’s Nigist Getachew finished second in 1:59:63, a personal best, while Patricia Silva of Portugal was third in 1:59:80, a national record.
At last year’s Paris Olympic Games, Sekgodiso showed she had plenty to give the athletics world when she finished eighth in the 80m women’s final in 1:58:79.
South African sprint king Akani Simbine, meanwhile, won his first global individual medal after a series of fourth- and fifth-place finishes in major international finals, after finishing third in the 60m final at the championships on Friday.
The medal was South Africa’s first world indoor medal since 2018.
Simbine was in scintillating form throughout the 60m event, equalling his personal best of 6.53 in the semi-finals.
In a quick final race, the last event on Friday, Simbine crossed the finish line in 6.54 seconds to bag the bronze.
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