Kenya's Olympiad Wambui plots Semenya's downfall of 800m dominance

Source: Xinhua| 2018-10-30 20:59:56|Editor: Shi Yinglun
Video PlayerClose

NAIROBI, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Olympic 800m bronze medalist Margaret Wambui believes she will finally emerge from the shadow of South Africa's Caster Semenya and beat her at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar in 2019.

Speaking in Nairobi on Tuesday, Wambui says Semenya, who is both world and Olympic champion, is beatable and believes she is the one who will finally puncture the aura of invincibility that the South African has over the two-lap race at international level.

"Competition is about winning and losing and nobody is indispensible. Everyone is beatable," said Wambui, who was fourth at London World Championships in 2017.

"Semenya is beatable. Her day will come but let her enjoy the moment. My time is yet to come," she added.

Semenya remains unbeaten since 2015 and a lack of serious competition has prompted her to branch out into the 400m and 1,500m distances.

"It has always been my dream to win a major competition and my target next year is to win the World Championships in Doha and then we will see what happens at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," Wambui said.

Also hoping to compete at the Doha worlds is Francine Niyonsaba, who holds a personal best of 1:55.47, run in Monaco in 2017.

Like Wambui, Niyonsaba has largely played second fiddle to Semenya, finishing second in both the 2017 worlds and the 2016 Olympics.

The trio will relaunch their rivalry early next year, starting with the indoor circuit before moving outdoors with the Diamond League series, with the Doha worlds representing the culmination of the 2019 season.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011100001375696911