Caster looking to make amends
LAUREUS: TOP AWARD BECKONS FOR SOUTH AFRICAN
Being honoured in Monaco can be the icing on the cake after Semenya’s stellar year on the world athletics circuit.
Having been overlooked in a shock decision late last year for the Female Athlete-ofthe-Year accolade at the IAAF Awards, middle-distance runner Caster Semenya could receive significant consolation if she cracks the nod in Monaco next month.
Semenya, who was nominated for the 2017 IAAF trophy but was omitted from the list of finalists, was unveiled as one of six nominees this week for the Sportswoman-of-the-Year gong at next month’s Laureus World Sports Awards.
Should she step on stage, Semenya would make history by becoming the first South African to win the award, and she would be the first SA athlete to be recognised by Laureus in any category since 2015.
While she enjoyed a superb 2017 season, however, which included two medals at the IAAF World Championships in London and a 600m world best in Berlin, she’s up against some stiff competition.
Semenya was one of two track athletes announced among the nominees, along with American sprinter Allyson Felix who earned three podium places at the World Championships, lifting her career tally to a record 16 medals.
She was also lined up against Spanish tennis player Garbine Muguruza, who won Wimbledon after entering the tournament as the No 14 seed, and three other American athletes including teenager Katie Ledecky, who earned six medals in the pool at the World Aquatics Championships, slalom skier Mikaela Shiffrin of the US, who won the overall World Cup title, and tennis star Serena Williams, who lifted the Australian Open title for the seventh time before taking maternity leave.
The winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards will be announced at a gala ceremony in Monaco on February 27.