Potchefstroom: World 800 metres champion Caster Semenya made a successful return to competitive athletics on Saturday when she won her first race after a long injury layoff.
The 20-year-old, who underwent gender verification tests that put her career on hold for almost a year after winning gold at the world championships in August 2009, was competing in the 800m at a top-flight South African domestic series meet.
The South African's last competitive outing was in September last year, before she was forced to pull out of the Commonwealth Games in October with a back injury.
"It's a good start to the year," Semenya, who led from the start to clock a time of 2 minutes 04.12 seconds, well off her personal best of 1:55.45, told reporters.
"I haven't raced in South Africa in a long time and today shows that my preparations are on track for the world championships (in Daegu, South Korea in August)."
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, February 20, 2011, 08:49