Semenya looks back on feats — and towards Tokyo in 2020
• Young girl matures into big winner
As she readies herself for a 2018 that promises to add to her trophy cabinet, Caster Semenya looks back on her extraordinary career and allows herself a shy smile. It has been a journey of glory, accusation, redemption and peace.
Semenya, whose first big competition will be the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco at the end of February, believes she has matured from the young girl who shook the world back in 2009.
“I would say that Rio [Olympics in 2016] is one of my highlights, and the World Championships in 2009 was the first time I made it to the scene,” she said.
“But I was a young girl, I had to grow. I had to be mature. I had to find a way to make decisions and how to make right ones and how to pick the wrong ones and take them out. I think winning in 2009 and winning in Rio are the best moments of my life.”
Semenya’s season will officially begin with the South African nationals in March and will take in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, in April and the African Championships in Nigeria in August.
She will lead SA at the inaugural World Cup event in London in July when SA will be one of the eight teams invited.
She plans on running both the 800m and 1,500m at the Commonwealth Games, “so I can be able to win two golds”. Her confidence is high. But first there is the matter of the Laureus World Sports Awards on February 27.
She has been nominated for the sportswoman of the year category alongside Serena Williams, swimmer Katie Ledecky, sprinter Allyson Felix, alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and Garbine Muguruza, the reigning Wimbledon champion.
“Those are great sportswomen, great in what they do,” said Semenya. “I respect their work. I follow their work.
“They are phenomenal. They are strong. I feel blessed, privileged to be among a list of great women like that. Being nominated with the best — I feel like I am a winner already.
“It’s a dream come true to be nominated. As an athlete, we have goals, we have dreams. This is one of the dreams I dreamed from when I was young, watching the world’s top sportsmen and sportswomen being nominated.”
She was nominated for her dominance at the 2017 World Championships in London, when she won gold in the 800m and bronze in the 1,500m.
Her final 200m in the 800m when she attacked was a thing of perfection. “I watched [that] over and over. How I executed the movements, especially in the last 60m. It showed the hard work that we put in. I’ll cherish it for the rest of my life.
“For me it was never about winning. It was about enjoying what I do, and then obviously winning comes along and then getting faster also comes along. It’s just all about being on the track, being free, being what I love. I feel free when I run.
“I think I was just doing it for the love of sport, nothing else. But when you see that you can win, and then you start working very hard so you can maintain the winning streaks and all those medals, the accolades, the awards and everything.”
Semenya is looking to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where she aims to defend her 800m title and win it for the third and, perhaps, final time. “I’m an athlete who works more on shortterm goals. Every month we see how we can improve our fitness, how we can improve our biomechanics and how we can improve our breathing.
“So, yes, Tokyo, I’m looking forward to it.
“I’ll be 29, so it will be probably my last Olympics 800m. But yes, if I can still go faster, you never know where you can end up,” Semenya says.