Caster Semenya is a woman on a mission
LAUSANNE: On the track, Caster Semenya has repeatedly won her battles hands down.
She’s been unbeatable in the 800m for the past two years and today she lines up in the 1500m in Lausanne hoping to make a statement of her quality in the longer race.
Interestingly, the race venue is a stone’s throw from where the legal battle over the IAAF’s female classification regulations, which directly impact on Semenya, will be fought at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Semenya has quietly and defiantly continued her quest for world domination.
She ran the fourth fastest 800m time ever in winning the Paris Diamond League event in Paris over the weekend, in one minute, 54.25 seconds (1:54.25).
She may not be as well versed in the tactics of the 1500m but she is expected chop away at her personal best and edge her way closer to another world record.
Semenya’s coach and training partner Samuel Sepeng is confident his charge will get the better of a quality field as long as she takes command of the race.
“If you take the first Diamond League in Doha, she did well going sub-four minutes and if you look at the way she ran the 1500m she did well,” Sepeng said.
“It is about Caster believing that she can do well and with the work, we’ve done balancing the 1500m and the 800m she is ready.
“She can do whatever she wants to do.”
Dibaba’s meet record of 3:57.82 may well take a tumble today and if Semenya fires at all cylinders she could edge closer the Ethiopian’s world mark.
While a few women have
won double Diamond League Trophies in sprint events it is a feat yet to be accomplished over the middle distances.
Semenya’s personal best of 3:59.92 is nearly 10 seconds off Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia’s world record.
It may seem a bit premature and overly ambitious to suggest Semenya is capable of threatening the 3:50.07 world record.
Her personal best does not even feature in the top-100 of the world all-time list but Semenya is a woman on a mission. Sepeng believes she is capable of chopping at least five seconds off her current best which would launch her close to the top-10 on the list.
“It doesn’t mean that if she can run a 1:54 over the 800m that she can do well in the 1500m,” Sepeng said.
“But with the mindset of doing both distances this year, I believe she can do well in the 1500m too where running 3:55-3:54 is possible.
“It depends on the pace she will run on race day.
Semenya will go up against seasoned campaigners including two- time world 5000m world bronze medalist Hassan ( The Netherlands) will line up next to her.
* De Villiers is in Lausanne courtesy of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)