Semenya completes 800m, 1500m double

By Afp, Gold Coast
13 April 2018, 18:00 PM
UPDATED 14 April 2018, 03:06 AM
South Africa's Caster Semenya shrugged off controversy over her right to compete after completing a Commonwealth Games double with victory in the women's 800 metres on Friday.

South Africa's Caster Semenya shrugged off controversy over her right to compete after completing a Commonwealth Games double with victory in the women's 800 metres on Friday.

The 27-year-old, who identifies as a woman but has elevated testosterone levels, dedicated her gold medal to the late Winnie Mandela after her crushing win.

Elsewhere on the Gold Coast, English tabloid darling Tom Daley captured diving gold before weighing in on gay rights, while 15-year-old shooter Anish Bhanwala became India's youngest ever Commonwealth champion.

At the athletics, England's Katarina Johnson-Thompson won heptathlon gold, but New Zealand's Valerie Adams failed to take a fourth straight shot put crown, the mighty Kiwi settling for silver.

Semenya, who won the 1,500m title earlier this week, smashed her rivals once again to clock a Games record of one minute, 56.68 seconds.

After the race, she revealed how anti-apartheid hero Mandela, who died two weeks ago after a long illness, had helped her through adversity.