Rio de Janeiro – Caster Semenya walked into the post-race press conference dreading questions she anticipated from the surprisingly small contingent of journalists after winning 800m gold at the Rio Olympics on Saturday night.
But flanked by silver and bronze medallists – Burundian Francine Niyonsaba and Kenya’s Margaret Wambui – Semenya looked every bit the champion after winning in a new South African record of 1:55.28.
The friendly banter and playful attitudes they displayed during the victory lap had been replaced by an uncomfortable air as they took their places at the top table.
Niyonsaba followed the South African in second place, clocking 1:56.49, with Kenya’s Margaret Wambui bagging the bronze in a new personal best of 1:56.89.
Semenya confidently dealt with the first arbitrary question about her race before the anticipated topic from the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) ruling that testing on female athletes taking testosterone suppressants be suspended.
All three athletes were asked whether they were taking any medication to lower testosterone levels.
A bewildered Wambui took the first turn, asking the media to rather focus on the athletes’ performances of the day.
Semenya then took control as she addressed the journalist repeating Wambui’s request.
“Excuse me my friend, tonight is all about performance, we are not here to talk about the IAAF, and some speculations,” Semenya said.
“Tonight is all about performances, and this press conference is about the 800m that we ran today, so thank you.”
But she didn’t hide later when tackling the controversy once more. “I think it is all about loving one another, it is not about discriminating against people, it is not about looking at how people look, how they speak, how they run,” Semenya added.
“You know, it is not about being muscular, it is all about sport, when you walk out of your apartment you think about performing, you don’t think about what your opponents look like.
“My advice would be to everybody is to just go out there and have fun, and have fun in training, that’s all I can say.”
@ockertde