Berlin: South African teenager Caster Semenya, whose rapid improvement has prompted officials to order a gender verification test, won the women's world 800 meters title with a crushing performance on Wednesday.
Powerfully-built but beautifully relaxed in motion, the 18-year-old clocked 1 minute, 55.45 seconds for the year's fastest time and a personal best by more than a second.
Kenyan world champion and Olympic silver medalist Janeth Jepkosgei was more than 15 meters adrift for second in 1:57.90.
Fast-closing Jenny Meadows of Britain snatched third, three-hundredths of a second behind Jepkosgei in another personal best.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) allowed Semenya to run with the gender test still ongoing, spokesman Nick Davies said earlier on Wednesday.
"It would be wrong today to take a decision to withdraw an athlete," he said.
Officials also decided to keep Semenya away from the traditional post-race news conference.
Gender verification test
Semenya underwent a gender verification test after her improved form this year raised an alarm with athletics officials, the IAAF said on Wednesday.
"In the case of this athlete, following her breakthrough in the African junior championships, the rumors, the gossip was starting to build up," said International Association of Athletics Federations spokesman Nick Davies.
"The gender verification test is an extremely complex procedure," Davies added. "The situation today is that we do not have any conclusive evidence that she should not be allowed to run."
"It would be wrong today to take a decision to withdraw an athlete."
The 18-year-old set a personal best for the 800 meters of one minute 56.72 seconds on July 31, which was eight seconds better than her time in 2008.
She was also the fastest qualifier for the final, running 1:58.66 her semi-final.
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