CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – Former world 800 metre champion Caster Semenya is likely to miss next month’s world championships in Moscow after being left off South Africa’s provisional list of 30 athletes released yesterday.
Semenya, who won the world title in 2009 and ran second two years later, before grabbing the silver medal at the London Olympics, clocked a slow time in her first competitive race in over a year on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old would ordinarily be considered a good bet for a medal, but a knee injury that has plagued her since the Olympics and a pedestrian 800 metres win in a time of 2:06.58 in Finland have cast doubts over her readiness for Moscow.
Semenya would need to run 2:00.00 or quicker by July 29 to qualify for the championships, but her agent, Jukka Harkonen, told reporters earlier in the week that she had no more races lined up before the deadline.
The provisional South African list consists of 22 track and field athletes, six marathon runners and two race walkers.
Women’s javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen and 400 metre hurdler LJ van Zyl, who both won bronze two years ago, are among the selected athletes for the championships that get underway on Aug. 10.
Semenya rose to global recognition after winning the world championships, but then spent a year on the sidelines after being forced to undergo gender tests.
