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Caster Semenya of South Africa (RSA) won a staged 5000m time trial at the Bestmed Tuks Stadium in Pretoria, RSA at semi-elevation. She finished in the time of 15:52.28 to defend her national championship title at the distance. However, she fell far short of the Tokyo Olympic qualification time. Her previous best was 16:05.97 from Germiston, RSA set in April 2019.
The Tokyo Olympic qualification standard as set by World Athletics is 15:10.
Semenya is seeking to compete internationally at the 200m distance. She is not competing in her primary events, the 800m and 1500m distances, as World Athletics requires her to take testosterone-limiting medication, which she refuses to do. Semenya was forced to go on the medication to bring her T-levels down to the range of women who do not live with the condition of hyperandrogenism, as she does. It was a failed experiment as she slowed markedly and then successfully appealed the decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Subsequently, she won gold at the Rio Olympic Games in the 800m.
In March 2020, she ran her 200m personal best of 23.81 at the same stadium. She will need to run sub-22.80 to run fast enough to qualify for Tokyo. Currently, she has an ongoing appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to overturn the World Athletics decision to temper her T-levels. The case has not yet been heard. Her qualification window closes June 29.
The 30-year-old athlete also won gold during the 2012 London Olympic Games.
