Cape Town — Caster Semenya tried to downplay her performance in the 3 000m at the Athletics South Africa Grand Prix in Cape Town this week, but expect big things from the two-time 800m Olympic champion in 2022.
The 31-year-old stated after setting a new personal best of eight minutes, 54.97 seconds (8:54.97) at the Green Point Athletics Stadium on Wednesday night that she wasn’t worrying about medals, and was there to entertain the crowd.
“It’s always great when you see your people, and when you come onto the track, they show their appreciation and you show it back by giving them great performances. It was great feeling that,” Semenya said.
She also spoke excitedly about being a coach for her own Masai Athletics Club, where she has 18 athletics under her tutelage.
Semenya is tackling the 5 000m properly this year, having tried in vain at almost the last minute to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Asked what the main challenge is for her in the 5 000m, she said: “I don’t think there’s any challenge: you just have to challenge yourself. At the end of the day, all athletes face those challenges. Going around for 13 laps is not easy when coming back from 800m, 1 500m, 400m. Being able to do it multiple times — the 800m three or four times — it was a challenge at first. But we’ve got to get used to it, and master it.
“I’m always confident about what I’m doing! My results always make me happy, because it’s what I’ve worked for. I cannot go with other people’s expectations, and at the end of the day, I do what I can do.
“Weather conditions cannot be a problem. You can’t make excuses due to the weather. You can always do better, so why not in three or four weeks’ time (at the SA championships)?”
But can she firstly qualify for the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July and August? Well, considering her 3 000m time this week, the target of 15:10.00 should be well within her reach. Her current personal best is 15:32.14 from last year, and that will most certainly be eclipsed.
To be a serious contender at the world championships will take some doing, though. The nine leading times in 2021 were all under 14:30.00, with the topthree quickest efforts all by Ethiopians — Gudaf Tseguy (14:13.32), Ejgayehu Taye (14:14.09) and Senbere Teferi (14:15.24).
The South African record-holder in the 10 000m (30:52.21), 5 000m (14:44.05) and 3 000m (8:32.00), Elana Meyer, told Independent Media that Semenya’s success in a long-distance event depends on a number of factors.
“I’m not sure how hard she has been training over the last year, where she didn’t really compete. So, it all depends on that. You definitely need a little bit of time to adjust from the 800m to the 5 000m. I know running longer distances, apart from developing endurance, you also need to develop that mental concentration,” said Meyer, who won a silver medal in the 10 000m at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
“It’s very difficult and different to focus on two minutes in a race to 15 minutes. For her, it would be: did she put in the work? Did she manage to make the mental switch to maintain the pace?
“You have to reserve (your stamina)… it’s all about pace. Does she have the discipline and the conditioning to run for 14-and-a-half minutes? She’s certainly got the machine to do it!”
Meyer added that factors off the track will also influence Semenya’s performance.
“Is she still hungry enough to compete? Does she still have that drive? Or does she want to move into a different phase of her life?
“She went to various Olympics. She’s got golds… She’s coaching, she’s got a child. She’s got various other commitments, and it’s not only running. So ultimately, is she still hungry to succeed? Does she still want to prove a point to herself and others?
“If she has that, I think she certainly has the machine and the capacity to do that.”
IOL Sport