( CNN ) -- South African teenager Caster Semenya won the women 's 800 meters gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin , just hours after the sport 's governing body asked for the 18-year-old 's gender to be verified . Semenya celebrates her gold , which came just hours after the IAAF called for a gender test on the athlete . Semenya crushed her rivals by streaking away to secure victory in a time of one minute 55.45 seconds -- the best time in the world this year . Defending champion Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya took the silver with Briton Jennifer Meadows claiming bronze . However , the race was run amid controversy following the announcement by the International Amateur Athletics Federation ( IAAF ) . Watch outrage over allegations » . `` The gender verification test is an extremely complex procedure , '' said IAAF spokesman Nick Davies -- who revealed the question of Semenya 's gender was first raised after her astonishing African junior championship displays . `` In the case of this athlete , following her breakthrough in the African junior championships , the rumors , the gossip were starting to build-up , '' Davies added to reporters . There have been precedents in such cases , the most famous being that of Polish athletics great Stella Walsh , who won Olympic gold in the 100 yards at the 1932 Olympics and silver in the same event in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin . However , after she was shot dead during an armed robbery in 1980 , the subsequent autopsy revealed she possessed male genitalia , although she also had female characteristics as well . Meanwhile , Yusuf Saad Kamel secured Bahrain 's first-ever medal with a superb late surge to claim gold in the men 's 1,500 meters . Kamel , who until 2003 competed for Kenya as Gregory Konchellah and is the son of former two-time world 800m champion Billy , won in a time of three minutes 35.93 seconds . Ethiopia 's world indoor champion Deresse Mekonnen claimed a surprise silver with defending champion Bernard Lagat , also Kenyan-born but now competing for the United States , in bronze . `` `` It 's amazing to win a world title just like my father . The only thing left for me to do is to beat his times and win more medals and get to the front of my family , '' Kamel told reporters . Olympic silver medallist Asbel Kiprop of Kenya could only finish fourth after leaving himself too much to do down the home straight . Elsewhere , sprint king Usain Bolt produced an effortless run to coast into the men 's 200m final and remain on course to claim a world sprint double to add to his Olympic sprint double from Beijing . The 22-year-old Jamaican , who set a new world record of 9.58 seconds in winning the 100m on Sunday eased home to win his semifinal in 20.08 seconds and only injury looks like depriving him of gold . `` I just try and get through and make it as easy as possible , '' Bolt told reporters . `` I 've been training for this for a long time now . I know what I have to do . '' There was more sprint joy for Jamaica when Bolt 's compatriot Brigitte Foster-Hylton ran a season 's best time of 12.51 seconds to finally claim gold in the women 's 100m hurdles . The 34-year-old , who won world bronze in Helsinki in 2005 and silver in Paris in 2003 , secured her first global title by edging out Canada 's Olympic bronze medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep . Another Jamaican , Delloreen Ennis-London , took the bronze medal . However , the biggest cheer of the night at an electric Olympic Stadium was reserved for Germany 's Robert Harting , who dramatically won the men 's discus gold with his sixth and final throw of 69.43 meters . Poland 's long-time leader Piotr Malachowski won silver with a throw of 69.15m with defending world and Olympic champion Gerd Kanter of Estonia claiming the bronze with 66.88m . The victory was host nations Germany 's second of the championships after Steffi Nerius claimed gold in the women 's javelin on Tuesday .
Caster Semenya wins women 's 800m gold at World Athletics Championships . South African secures victory after IAAF asked for gender test on the teenager . Comment: