Today in history: Caster Semenya is born
In November 2015, the World Anti-Doping Agency recommended Savinova and four other Russian athletes be given a lifetime ban for doping violations at the Olympics.
Mokgadi Caster Semenya was born in Ga-Masehlong near Polokwane on 7 January 1991 to her parents Dorus and Jacob Semenya.
Semenya attended Nthema Secondary School and later went on to study Sports Science at the University of North West.
In the African Junior Championships in 2009, she won both the 800m and 1500m races with the times of 1:56.72 and 4:08.01 respectively, simultaneously breaking the 800m Senior and Junior South African records held by Zelda Pretorius at 1:58.85, and Zola Budd at 2:00.90, respectively.
In August of the same year, when Semenya was 18 years old she won gold in the 800m World Championships with a time of 1:55.45 in the final, setting the fastest time of the year.
On 7 September 2009, Wilfred Daniels, Semenya’s coach with Athletics South Africa (ASA), resigned because he felt that ASA did not advise Semenya properly and apologised for personally having failed to protect her.
In 2012, Semenya was chosen to carry South Africa’s flag during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
She later won a silver medal in the women’s 800 metres of these games, with a time of 1:57.23 seconds, her season’s best.
She came second to Mariya Savinova who took gold in the race, finishing 1.04 seconds before Semenya.
In November 2015, the World Anti-Doping Agency recommended Savinova and four other Russian athletes be given a lifetime ban for doping violations at the Olympics.
On 10 February 2017, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) officially disqualified Savinova’s results backdated to July 2010 till August 2013, and she was stripped of all her titles during this time.
Semenya was awarded with the win at the 2012 World Championships five years later as she was placed second in the race and the silver medal from the 2011 World Championships in which she had previously finished third.
She achieved gold and her personal best in 800 m of 1:55:17 at the 2017 World Championships held in London.
On 8 January 2017, Semenya and her wife, Raseboya held a traditional white wedding.
Information sourced from: South African History Online.
