Defiant Semenya powers to victory

Double Olympic champion Caster Semenya won her last 800 metres race on Friday before the introduction of controversial rules limiting testosterone levels in female athletes.

The South African was running at the Diamond League meeting in Doha two days after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected her appeal to get the governing body’s (International Association of Athletics Federations) new regulations thrown out.

She must now begin taking medication to lower her testosterone levels if she wishes to compete over that distance based on the new rules.

Semenya won her 30th successive race over the distance in one minute 54.98 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year. The South African defeated Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba (1min 57.75sec) and Ajee Wilson of the United States (1min 58.83sec).

“Actions speak louder than words,” Semenya told BBC Sport after the race. “When you are a great champion, you always deliver.

“It’s up to God, God has decided my life, God will end my life, God has decided my career, God will end my career. No man, or any other human, can stop me from running,”

“How am I going to retire when I am 28? I still feel young, energetic. I still have ten years or more in athletics.

“It doesn’t matter how I’m going to do it, what matters is I’ll still be here.”

When asked whether she would take medication to run the 800, she said, “Hell, no.”

Agencies