Rio de Janeiro - On the streets of Botafogo, in the south of Rio, amidst the celebrations of Brazil's first Olympic football title, they stopped to observe Caster Semenya.
The crowd saluted the South African's maiden Olympic crown, as she charged to the lead right away, catching the world and her rivals by surprise.
As she looked likely to inch towards a rare world record, the crowd got up on its feet, and screamed “Vamos La” - Come on! - , aware of the introspection that Semenya has faced in the build up to her crowning moment.
“She's just a girl,” Manuela, a waitress at a packed Cafe 3 Bar commented, as South Africa's new national record holder just missed out on the world record.
“They should let her be,” she added.
Brazil and it's people cannot understand the fuss around Semenya, as one of the world's most progressive nations on sexuality. The Stadio Olimpico rose to salute her dominant victory, on a night of much celebration in Brazil.
Semenya again walked through the mixed zone without a word, but she had already made her point to the world. Semenya draped herself in a South African flag, and signed off from the Olympic Games in the most sensational style for Team South Africa, bringing their medal haul to 10.
Semenya, who had been content with sitting in the pocket and then striking in the last 300m, surged into an early lead.
A world record would have put an exclamation mark on her victory, but Semenya has more than made her point by triumphing amidst unprecedented introspection. South Africa's anthem would ring out in Rio one last time, and send South Africa back home with their greatest medal haul since readmission.
While the world's media looked for a punchline, Rio and it's delirious fans were happy to salute another gold medallist with her own success story to share.
Independent Media