Rio de Janeiro - It is the race the whole world has waited for. South Africa’s golden girl, Caster Semenya, will start Sunday’s 800m women’s final as the overwhelming favourite. And finally she’ll get a chance to have her say, when the race is done. Or, perhaps, she won’t.
The 2012 silver medallist has been the subject of dozens of stories without giving a single comment to the hundreds of press gathered in Rio. Now, international reports suggest that security has been beefed up for the athlete ahead of her race. Several news outlets are reporting that Olympic officials are concerned about Semenya’s welfare and are fearful of unrest from the fans of rival runners spilling over into physical violence.
Thank you South Africa... I feel proud to be a South African ..Thanks for the Love and Support.. 💞 I'll make you proud. 🏃🏃🏃
— Caster Semenya (@caster800m) August 17, 2016
The reports state that journalists have been barred from approaching the athlete and she won’t be allowed to conduct any media interviews. She will also be accompanied by Rio Olympics security staff at all times.
The International Olympic Committee and Rio organisers have apparently refused to talk about the runner.
Last night, the Department of Sport and Recreation would not be drawn into speculation that Semenya had been put under armed guard.
😁😁😁😁 You try to give me stress ..I give you heart attack.. 😂😂😂😂 ITS A WARNING.. TRY ME.. pic.twitter.com/i5hQsyboBL
— Caster Semenya (@caster800m) August 13, 2016
Esethu Hasane, spokesman for the department, said Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula had visited Semenya three days ago to deliver messages of support to her.
“What we as South Africans should do now is rally behind Caster as she heads into the finals,” Hasane told the Saturday Star.
This week Semenya cruised through the heats and semi-final, confirming her standing as the best 800m runner this year. For many, the only question ahead of the final is by how much - not if - she will win.
Amid all this, the question about gender will inevitably rear its ugly head again to provoke a reaction out of the 25-year-old.
The expectation is that the IAAF, led by the media-hungry Sebastian Coe, will revisit the testosterone level-testing once the Olympics are done, and that Semenya may find herself being the unwilling face of one of the most awkward questions in sport.
Semenya’s competition rivals in the final have also had a word, guarded though it was. Ajee’ Wilson of the US insisted the issue needed to be revisited. “At this point, what I think doesn’t really matter. We’re all on the track. Whoever’s on there is racing,” she swiped.
Meanwhile, South Africans have continued to rally together to defend Semenya. Gladwell Ndzube, of the Gugulethu Athletics Club in Cape Town, said Semenya was as big an inspiration as Jamaican sprinter and multi-Olympic medallist Usain Bolt.
“She is truly an inspiration in that she does not buckle under pressure, (but) just believes in herself.”
Ndzube added that the runner could not have appeared on the athletics scene at a better time. “All eyes are on Usain Bolt but to me she is the cherry on top,” he said.
Semenya’s coach, Jean Verster, told the Saturday Star that Caster is firmly focused on her races, and that no amount of criticism would derail her ambitions of winning gold.
AKA.. AKANI.. AND WAYDE... I HAVE AMARULA TO CELEBRATE.. WELL-DONE HOMMIES... LOVE BOYS.. 😍😍😍
— Caster Semenya (@caster800m) August 15, 2016
“We aren’t interested in what other people have to say. Caster has been cleared to run and that’s all that matters,” Verster said.
Semenya has not only been entertaining her fans on the track but also on Twitter, where she has amassed more than 22 000 followers.
While some of her tweets have a comic edge, such as the one of her goofing off with friend and co-Olympian Chad le Clos, others are more serious and appear to be replies to her detractors.
“Kill them with success and bury them with a smile,” one recent tweet said. “You try to give me stress. I give you heart attack. It’s a warning, try me,” read another.
South African fans have been sending her their best wishes. “I find Semenya inspiring; she gives me hope. Her life story would be worth a read,” tweeted Nokuzola Ndwandwe.
South African powerhouse... pic.twitter.com/nPZuVwx9Dl
— Caster Semenya (@caster800m) August 13, 2016
“You’re an inspiration Caster! We’re all backing you 100%. Love, South Africa,” wrote Wade Cox.
Yesterday, Le Clos also pledged his support for Semenya to collect South Africa’s second gold medal and give Team South Africa their best medal count from Olympics.
“Caster is definitely going to win. I will be watching her, and then South Africa will have the 10 medals that we aimed for,” said Le Clos from the sidelines of the Lahee Park pool in Pinetown, where he resumed training yesterday, just hours after landing in Durban from Rio.
Le Clos, who won two silver medals in Rio to make him South Africa’s most successful Olympian ever, said he enjoyed watching and cheering on his colleagues.
“I was in the audience when Wayde (van Niekerk) ran, and it was so fantastic to see him win. He deserves it. We have been friends for some time, and I know he deserves the success. Definitely with winning gold his life is going to change. So now we are all cheering for Caster to make the country proud again, and round off the medal tally,” he said.
With one gold medal, six silver and two bronze from Rio, the 2016 Olympics team is easily South Africa’s best since readmission to the sporting jamboree in 1992. If Le Clos is correct and Semenya picks up South Africa’s second gold on Sunday morning, the team will equal South Africa’s best medal haul - 10 each from Antwerp in 1920 and Helsinki in 1952.
Additional reporting by Tim Whitfield and Arthi Gopi
Saturday Star