Athletics 360

Double Olympic 800 metres champion Caster Semenya spoke about qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics Games in a new event after defending her South African championships 5,000m title in Pretoria, on Thursday.

Semenya trimmed nearly 15 seconds off her personal best by crossing the line in 15:52.28 — 42.28 secs outside the Tokyo qualifying time of 15:10.

The race was staged at an altitude of 1,339 m (4,393 feet) and Semenya is considering running the same distance at sea level, where the air is less thin and times generally faster.

“If the guys in Durban (sea-level city) do something in May, I might run,” Semenya said after her victory.

“I am pretty happy with how I ran (today) — it is all about having fun. I can’t really focus on Tokyo if I’m still building up myself at the moment.” Last year, Semenya announced she would pursue Olympics 200m qualification.

But the three-time 800m world champion has changed her mind, believing distance races will lengthen her career.

"I am 30 years old and if I were to do sprints it would be a risk to my muscles. In distance (running), there is more time to find consistency," said the three-time world 800m champion.