Olympic champion Caster Semenya hasn’t lost any of the unbeatable aura she carried throughout last season.
The South African sat close to pacemaker Jenny Meadows on the first lap of the 800m before taking up the sole lead and moving away from the rest of the field.
Olympic bronze medalist Margaret Wambui was the only athlete capable of covering the move, but Semenya crossed the line a comfortable winner in a world-leading meeting record of 1:56.61.
Wambui was second in 1:57.03 as fellow Kenyan Eunice Sum was third in 1:58.76.
Habitam Alemu was fourth in 1:58.92 while world 1500m champion Genzebe Dibaba, making her 800m debut, was fifth in 1:59.37.
WL and MR for @caster800m at #DohaDL
1:56.61. That’s fast. pic.twitter.com/ooEPQYeEq3
— IAAF (@iaaforg) May 5, 2017
“The race was fantastic and the field is great,” said Semenya.
“I’m looking forward to having great races; my only concern now is to finish my studies. I’m left with two semesters, so I need to graduate and get my focus back on the track.”
Culled from IAAF