Semenya back to winning form

Potchefstroom - World 800m gold medallist Caster Semenya held off a strong challenge from South African champion Mapaseka Makhanya on Saturday to win the women’s 800m final at the Yellow Pages Series meeting in Potchefstroom.

Semenya, who clocked an unofficial time of 2:04.13, took the lead from the start and dragged four other women through the first lap.

The rest of the field had fallen away by the final bend, and while Makhanya was on her shoulder with 80m to go, Semenya produced a kick shortly before the line to win her first major race in four months.

A back injury kept the 20-year-old out of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October and the Yellow Pages Summer Series in December.

Her only previous race this year was a low-key club meeting in Pretoria last month.