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Semenya places 9th

Published:Wednesday | September 1, 2010 | 10:29 AM

World champion, Caster Semenya, finished a surprising ninth in the 800 metres, at the Palio della Quercia meet.



In her fifth race, following an 11-month gender dispute, Semenya clocked a dismal 2 minutes, 7.16 seconds.



Elisa Cusma Piccione of Italy, who openly questioned Semenya's gender at last year's worlds in Berlin, won in 2 minutes, 0.37 seconds.



It's Semenya's second consecutive loss after she placed third at the Diamond League meet in Brussels on Friday.



Despite the loss in Brussels, Semenya still clocked 1 minute, 59.66 seconds, the fastest time of her comeback. This time she was nowhere close to victory.



Semenya stood third to last after the first lap and never made a move to the front, giving the impression she was just out for a casual jog.