Caster wins first ever 400m race
March 10 2011 at 08:53pm
Caster Semenya says she is ready to defend her 800 metre world championship after winning her first ever 400m race.
South Africa’s 800-metre world champion Caster Semenya on Thursday said she was ready to defend her title in South Korea in August after winning her first ever 400m race.
“I think I’m ready for the 800,” Semenya said after sprinting to a 54.03sec victory at the Bellville Stadium on the outskirts of Cape Town in the third meeting in a national athletics series.
“It’s what I’m training for so I’m just going to train hard so I can retain my title. I think I’m good enough to retain my title.”
Semenya, 20, said she was still recovering from the back injury that stopped her competing at the Commonwealth Games in India last October.
“I’m trying to heal my injury because I’ve not yet healed,” she told journalists after the race.
Semenya said she had run the shorter distance race to get some track time under her belt and was delighted to beat her target time.
“I’m happy with the time,” she said.
Semenya, who underwent gender verification tests following her Berlin world championship triumph and did not race for almost a year, plans to defend the world title in South Korea in August.
The probe into her gender was made public by the IAAF shortly before the athlete won a gold medal at the 2009 world championships, thrusting her into the global spotlight. – Sapa-AFP
Semenya searching for pace
March 10 2011 at 11:38pm
Associated Press
South African athlete and world 800m champion Caster Semenya has won the 400m event in Bellville.
Cape Town - World 800m champion Caster Semenya eased her way to victory in her first 400m race at the third event of the Yellow Pages Series athletics meeting in Bellville, Cape Town, on Thursday evening.
On a cold and windy autumn evening, it was star attraction Semenya that the crowd had come to watch.
Semenya ran a time of 54.03 to finish ahead of second-placed Namibian Tjipekapora Herunga.
“I’m working on speed at the moment, so that’s why I changed to the shorter 400m this week,” said Semenya.
“I’m ready for SA nationals 800m, because I’m able to do times around 54 for 400m so it’s important I keep working on my speed.”
Semenya is looking to defend her title at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea in August. To qualify she will have to run a time under 1:59.8 seconds before July 14. Her world record mark of 1:55.45 set in Berlin 2009 means Semenya is confident to make it to the event.
In one of the other big races of the evening, it was the 5000m Women’s race that provided the excitement.
Zintle Xiniwe was the surprise winner in a field including long distance specialists Rene Kalmer and Irvette Van Blerk. - Sapa
Semenya has a go at 3000m
08/03/2011 | Ramatsiyi Moholoa | 3 comments
REIGNING 800m world champion Caster Semenya is spreading her wings on the track with the 3000m now added to her schedule.
Semenya will make her first appearance in the 3km event in the third leg of the 2011 Yellow Pages Series in Bellville, Cape Town on Thursday.
Sowetan has learnt that Semenya has been training hard at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria preparing for the series.
“Caster is planning to do some long-distance events in the next few days as part of her training programme,” said coach Michael Seme yesterday.
"It will be a big strain running the 400m or 800m for now after she suffered a back problem recently. I don’t think she can run that fast with it. With the 1500m and 3000m events it will be much better because she won’t have to push. We have been working on the 3000m and Caster is ready to give it a try.
“We are not going to Cape Town on holiday but people must not expect earth-shattering times until Caster’s back problem has completely healed,” he said.
In the 3000m, Semenya will come up against South African champion Tebogo Masehla and popular Phalula twins Lebo and Lebogang.
Seme, who is also the coach of road, cross-country and track king Stephen Mokoka, said Semenya was more focused on successfully defending the world title she won two years ago.
Semenya made history by becoming the first black South African woman to win gold at the world championship in Germany. This was after banned Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene disregarded advice to withdraw Semenya from the world event because of complaints from “people in other countries” that she was a man disguised as a woman.
Does anyone know what caster and her coaches are doing? Do they have any idea themselves?
And - for sure - it is about time they came out and admitted she was out for a good part of that 11 months while she went through the hormone supplementation and testosterone blocking process. There is too much ridiculous pretence from that group that since the iaaf has re-admitted her to compete in womens athletics that the iaaf was wrong and semenya never had a gender “issue” in the first place. Until they come clean, this little problem will continue to haunt her whenever she lines up for an international race because the speculation will continue until put to rest. The truth is the best policy - just ask disgraced asa boss leonard chuene.
54sec is too slow to beat the beat 800m runners world wide.
Maths is 400m time, add 4sec then double.
That is if her endurance is in place. Racing a 3k indicate that they guess it is.
This gives her an ideal time of 1:58
Good enough for national titles.
If she runs a 52s 400m, then look out.
54sec is too slow to beat the beat 800m runners world wide.
Maths is 400m time, add 4sec then double.
That is if her endurance is in place. Racing a 3k indicate that they guess it is.
This gives her an ideal time of 1:58
Good enough for national titles.
If she runs a 52s 400m, then look out.
Well spotted. Some of the African reportage leaves a bit to be desired. You can figure out what they mean and you make excuses for the fact that most of the reporters have very little knowledge of this world sport or it’s common language and terminology. But many of the reports I’ve read on the Athletics South Africa situation dating back to the post-Berlin hysteria over Caster were blatant jingoistic nonsense with the reporter falling into line with the Chuene edicts. There was mostly zero commentary to balance the Chuene diatribe, now proven to have been a torrent of lies by his very own admission. Then again what do we know of the pressures on some of these reporters from the more reactionary forces, thugs often enough, from within organisations such as the ANC or in particular here, the ANC Youth whose ludicrous leader counts Chuene among his buddies and manipulates certain former athletes to stir mischief at a time when Athletics South Africa really needs everyone of any intelligence and integrity to pull together for a change. But the old saying is you get the leader you deserve…:rolleyes: