Semenya, and Her Quest of Time

And now she’s here, at the Bislett Games, more or less one year after her comeback. It isn’t her first race of the year; a few days ago, she competed in Eugene, set the time at 1:58,88 minutes and achieved third place. “The first 150m were too slow, and I made some other minor mistakes”, Semenya says self-critically. She doesn’t mention that the trip from South Africa to the US lasted 34 hours, that jetlag could have had a negative influence on her performance and that, anyway, she reached the defined goal to remain below the 1:59 minutes mark.

Semenya is on the way back to her level of 2009, when she ran her personal best of 1:55.45, when she won the World Championships’ Gold. “In Oslo, I want to remain below 1:58, maybe 1:57 – but everything happens in view of the World Championships in South Korea.” If she will be able to defend her title in Asia, Semenya is asked. “I don’t now. Everybody in the final can get first place. It will depend on if it will be a fast or a slow race, it will depend how strong you are mentally.”

But the World championships will happen in view of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. There the South African plans to run both 800m and 1500m. “I have to work on my speed endurance in view of the 2012 events”, she says.

The races in London will be carried out in 14 months, the race in Oslo in 48 hours. “At the Bislett Games, the time is very important, probably more important than first place”, the African runner explains. “You may eventually win with a slow time. That’s not my goal. I want to run fast.” In this case, victory should follow.

She played soccer and baseball as a kid, practiced also karate and boxing and laments about the training sessions in Pretoria where she goes to University. There is one morning session at 5 am, and a second one at 4.30 pm. “I don’t like the trainings at all, my coach kills me all the time”, Semenya says. “When I’m practicing, I just want that the session will be over fast and that I can leave.”

However, she trains day after day and she became a star, even if “this does not mean a lot to me. I don’t like to be famous, but I got used to it, and sometimes I’m enjoying it.”

Another 800m star set the World record, Jarmila Kratochvílová from former CSSR. In 1983, she ran 1:53.28 in Munich. Will Caster Semenya beat this all-time best once? The answer is gentle, softly and diplomatic: “I don’t know. It isn’t a question for the present. But in the future, who knows?”