Usain Bolt delivered a stunning 200m victory at the Bislett Games but Caster Semenya was outshone by unheralded Moroccan Halima Hachlaf in the women's 800m.
Bolt, the double world and Olympic champion and world record holder in both the 100 and 200m, was making his season’s bow in the longer discipline, which he last raced in May 2010. And the 24-year-old Jamaican did not disappoint, clocking a world lead time of 19.86 seconds in the fifth meet of the 14-leg Diamond League series. Starting in lane six, the Jamaican had caught compatriot Mario Forsythe on his outside within the first 15 metres, and in the final 80 metres there was no one to come close to him. Gambian-born Norwegian Jaysuma Saidy Ndure finished second on 20.43sec, with Forsythe taking third 0.06sec adrift.
In the women's 800m, Hachlaf produced a formidable sprint finish down the home stretch to pip Semenya and second-placed Russian Mariya Savinova in a world lead time of 1min 58.27sec But Semenya, was happy with her performance. She started strongly but her flagging finish saw her time 1:58.61 for third place behind world indoor and European outdoor champion Savinova (1:58.44), both season's bests.