By Nate Mann
PALO ALTO, Calif.—Ajeé Wilson doesn’t think anyone’s unbeatable—not even Caster Semenya, who hasn’t lost an 800-meter race since September 2015.
“That’s the mentality my coach and I go into training with, even if it is that one out of 50 races, 60 races,” she said. “You definitely never concede and just keep doing all you can to put yourself in a good position.”
She finished the 2019 Prefontaine Classic’s 800-meter race in second place with a time of 1 minute, 58.36 seconds, nearly three seconds behind Semenya, whose battle with the IAAF over whether she can compete is being heard in a Swiss Supreme Court.
Wilson’s time on Sunday marked a season best, faster than her previous two 800-meter races that ended in victories. In tug-of-rope fashion, Semenya’s presence helps Wilson run faster races, but her absence opens races for Wilson to win. Semenya leading the pack pushes all other runners to run faster.
Without Semenya, Wilson said, “I definitely wouldn’t be the runner I am today.”
Semenya ran 1:55.70 on Sunday, a Cobb Track & Angell Field facility record and Pre Classic meet record. Former Oregon runner Raevyn Rogers came in 0.29 seconds behind Wilson for third place.
The post-race attention was on Semenya, but the attention didn’t relate to Sunday’s outcome or her 31-race winning streak. Instead, reporters primarily asked about her return to the track following the most recent update of her ongoing legal battle with the IAAF.
The IAAF has decreed that any female athlete running a race between the quarter-mile and mile distance must have a testosterone level below a certain number, which the IAAF has set itself.
The Swiss supreme federal court handling the case suspended the IAAF regulation after Semenya appealed, allowing her to run the 800 at the Pre Classic.
“This is like a legal battle,” said Semenya. “It’s like war. You don’t give up. You beat me today; I beat you tomorrow.”
Because of the legal back-and-forth, Semenya didn’t run at the Stockholm Diamond League event and paved the way for Wilson to win the half-mile. Wilson’s victory was the first Diamond League 800 won by an athlete other than Semenya and Francine Niyonsaba, who is also affected by the ruling, since 2015. They had won the previous 22.
Wilson ran a 2:00.87 in that win a month ago, more than two seconds slower than her Pre Classic performance.
In races without Semenya, Wilson has been tasked with leading the pack. She therefore must adjust her preparation each race depending on Semenya’s status.
Every woman who finished the 800 on Sunday has set her personal best time in a race that Semenya won. Hanna Green of OTC Elite joined the club as she set a new personal best on Sunday with a fourth-place, 1:58.75 finish.
“The pace is already faster,” Rogers said of races including Semenya. “I try to plan accordingly as far as being realistic and use my strengths.”
Although Semenya has a monopoly on the 800-meter race, which she reiterated with a convincing win at Cobb Track & Angell Field, her consistency raises the standard for other runners. Several season bests resulted from the last two years of Pre Classic 800meter competitions, season bests that remained for much of the year.
Semenya’s future races will be at the 800-meter distance. When she was initially banned by the IAAF, she asked to run the 3,000 at the Pre Classic, but Semenya said she won’t make that choice again.
“No 1,500. Nothing,” said Semenya. “I’m just going to go take a vacation and then come next year.”
