By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Prudence Sekgodiso was one of 22 two-lap athletes to dip under two minutes (she had a 1:59.84), but qualified as the second-placed finisher in heat two. As is always the case, the heats were tightly-contested as it is more about the finishing result and not the time. For instance, in the final heat, seven of the eight athletes bettered two minutes, although only the first three qualified automatically for the semis.
“I’m excited, everything went according to plan and now I’ve made it to the semis,” Sekgodiso said afterwards. She had hit the line in a comfortable second behind Daily Cooper Gaspar of Cuba, after taking the bell at a relaxed 59.3sec.
“I’m looking forward to those semis. When I stepped onto the track I saw the crowd and it was just amazing. I thought I’m just going to stick to my plan and that’s what I did.
“I’ve been running sub-two minutes for a long time. I was feeling good and I made my move and gave it my all and pushed through to come second. What I’m going to do now is get my mind and body ready for the semi-final.”
Sekgodiso, just 22, has picked up the women’s 800m torch carried with aplomb by Caster Semenya, heading into Paris with a good shot of making the final, possibly even getting onto the podium.