Double Olympics 800-metre champion Caster Semenya called
herself "supernatural" this weekend after saying she hoped to compete
in the 200m at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The 29-year-old South African cannot defend her 800m title
as she refuses to abide by World Athletics testosterone-reducing regulations
covering races between 400m and the mile.
"I call myself supernatural," said the three-time
world 800m champion after clocking 23.49 seconds to win a provincial
championships 200m final in Pretoria.
The time she set here leaves her 0.69 sec outside the time
needed to qualify for the July 24-August 9 Tokyo Olympics.
Semenya will have at least four chances during April to
lower her time to at least 22.80 sec and secure a place in the South African
Olympics team.
She can compete in three Athletics South Africa Grand Prix
meetings and at the national championships.
The champion was thrilled at her latest 200m time, having
slashed 0.77 sec off her 2019 personal best in two races spanning seven days.
"We are chopping the times and I call myself
supernatural. I can do anything I want," she told reporters.
"You now me -- I always challenge myself. This
(switching from 800m to 200m) was not an easy decision to make. I am used to running two laps and then you come and
run half a lap. You have to adjust, which is not easy, but anything is
possible.
"With what I have already done -- I have run three
200m races -- it is doable," said Semenya as she eyes making the Tokyo
qualifying time before the June 29 deadline.
The athlete born in northern region capital Polokwane holds
the South African records at 300, 400, 600, 800, 1000 and 1500m.
Semenya took the athletics world by storm 11 years ago when
becoming the world 800m champion in Berlin at the age of 19.
But as her list of successes grew, rival female athletes
began to question how the South African could leave them trailing in her wake.
Semenya is among a minority of female athletes who have an
unusually high level of testosterone, which gives added strength.
The media-shy South African has faced constant legal
battles during her career, leading to temporary bans from competing in her
favourite middle-distance event.
The latest testosterone regulations left her with a choice
of competing in the 200m or a distance longer than the mile.
She has not clocked impressive times over longer distances,
prompting her to seek the 200m route to Tokyo.
Away from the athletics track, Semenya joined a
Johannesburg-based football club last year but was unable to play immediately
because she missed the registration deadline. Sowetan
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