Rio Olympics 2016: Caster Semenya wins 800m gold for South Africa

Rio. South Africa's Caster Semenya won Olympic gold in the 800m but Great Britain's Lynsey Sharp missed out on a medal as she finished sixth.

Semenya, 25, set a national record to win in one minute 55.28 seconds and finish well clear of silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi.

Kenya's Margaret Nyairera Wambui took the bronze medal, while Scot Sharp set a new personal best of 1:57:69.

Semenya, who has been subject to gender testing  won silver at London 2012.

There she finished behind Russia's Mariya Savinova, who has since been named in a doping report, with the World Anti-Doping Agency saying she should receive a lifetime ban. 

Four years on, Semenya finished more than a second clear of Niyonsaba to take the title.

Her time was two seconds adrift of the world record of 1:53:28, set by Jarmila Kratochvilova, running for Czechoslovakia, in July 1983.

"Every athlete's dream is to win a medal, especially in the Olympics," Semenya said.

Semenya's story

Semenya has faced continued questions over her eligibility to race since her impressive 2009 World Championship win as an 18-year-old, with concerns raised that she should not be able to run as a woman.

She has since been diagnosed with hyperandrogenism, which means her testosterone levels are far in excess of the vast majority of women.

"Tonight is all about performance," Semenya said after the race. "We're not here to talk about some speculations. It's not about looking at people, how they look, how they speak, how they run. It's not about being muscular. It's all about sports."

BBC