RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Aug 21- Youngster Margaret Nyairera dug deep into her energy reserves in the final 50m to win Kenya a bronze medal in the Olympic 800m in a race won by South African Caster Semenya at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
The 2014 World Junior champion was on the verge of losing out on a medal after coming off the home straight fifth, but she managed to push hard into the final 50 to power into a bronze, setting a new personal best of 1:56.89.
Nyairera who qualified second from her semi-final race ran shoulder to shoulder with Semenya heading into the first 200m of the race but was soon pushed to fifth but at the bell.
She moved to the outside lanes to get space to attack the pace heading into the final 400m.
In a relatively first lap cleared in 57.59 with Burundian Francine Niyonsaba in the lead, it promised to be a frantic end.
Semenya, the 2009 World Champion looked to play second fiddle to Niyonsaba, but in the home straight, the 25-year old employed her trademark superb final kick, powering past the Burundian to cross the line in a time of 1:55.28, a new national record for South Africa.
Niyonsaba settled for silver in a time of 1:56.49