Caster Semenya is proving that she is not just dominant in the 800m, but that she will be a big threat in the one lap race, as she stormed to a Personal Best of 50.40s to win the 400m at the Brussels Diamond League.
The South African practically dived to finish line, but it was more than that as she came from 5th position after the bend to close in on and beat Courtney Okolo who was 2nd in 50.51s and Stephanie McPherson who was 3rd also with the same time.
Nevertheless, McPherson still secured the Diamond Race (DR) trophy by virtue of her position in the race, finishing with 39 points as Natasha Hastings finished behind her on the standings with 30 points having placed 5th with 50.84s.
So, Semenya does not just have the 800m locked down, she’s now aiming to shift her dominance to the 400m, and the duo of Allyson Felix and Shaunae Miller will really have to be at their best to beat her next season.
Meanwhile in the women’s 400m Hurldes, Cassandra Tate secured the DR trophy clocking 54.47s to win the race. It was a win that earned her 50 points as she surpassed Eilidh Doyle who had 40 points having finished 5th with 55.26s. Sara Petersen finished 2nd with a time of 54.60s and Kaliese Spencer 3rd in 55.05s.
The men’s 800m produced a scramble and a photo finish line. However it was Adam Kszczot who came from the outside to take the win in 1:44.36. Kipyegon Bett finished 2nd with a time of 1:44.44 and Amel Tuka running a Season’s Best (SB) of 1:44:54
In the men’s 1500m race, Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop secured the DR trophy having finished 3rd with a time of 3:31.87. However it was not so easy for the world champion who missed out on the podium in Brazil.
Hard as Kiprop tried to kick in, there was no room for him as Timothy Cheruiyot and Abdelaati Iguider 3:31.34 and 3:31.40 respectively. It was a PB for Cheruiyot who got his first Diamond League win this year.
Meanwhile in the men’s 3000m Steeplechase, although Conseslus Kipruto was attempting the World Record, he had a lot to worry about as Evan Jager was with him all the way, but the Kenyan still managed to pull away after the last barrier to win in 8:03.74.
Jager raced to an SB of 8:04.01 with Mahiedine Benabbad Mekhissi also running an SB of 8:08.15 to finish in 3rd place.
