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Semenya eyeing Commonwealth Games double

Cape Town - Caster Semenya has revealed that she will again attempt the 800m and 1500m double at next year's Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Semenya had a stellar season by smashing the world record in the rarely-run 600 metres in Berlin and successfully defending her 800m title at the IAAF Diamond League.

In August, the 26-year-old took gold and bronze at the 2017 IAAF World Championship in London.

Semenya also won big at the country's Sports Awards earlier this month, as she scooped up the Sportswomen of the Year and People's Choice Sports Star of the Year award.

Looking ahead to next season, Semenya has the Commonwealth Games in Australia on her mind and hopes to bring home more gold.

"I will again be going for the double in the 800m and 1 500m, and I need to improve on my tactics in the 1 500m," Semenya told IOL.co.za.

"The 1 500m is a race that excites me, I look forward to racing it."

In the 800m in London, Semenya ran a personal best time - and a new South African record - of 1:55:16 in winning gold.

She was in the cusp of breaking the 34-year-old world record in the 800m - the longest standing record in athletics (1:53.28) held by former Czechoslovakian Jarmila Kratochvílová.

Semenya's coach Jean Verster, who won SA coach of the year at the SA Sports Awards, predicts that the star could demolish the women's 800m record in the near future.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games takes place between April 4-15, 2018 in at the Gold Coast, Queensland.

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