In the two years leading up to the 2012 London Olympics, Caster Semenya had to deal with a number of issues off the track and still won a silver medal.
But a more relaxed Semenya feels she is in even better shape heading into the 2016 Rio Games in August.
The 25-year-old 800m world champion in 2009 and silver medallist in 2011 has had a much more focused build-up this time around. Semenya is now part of a stable set-up under coach Jean Verster for over a year after ending ties with Maria Mutola in 2014, and she is over troublesome knee injuries that hampered her progress in recent seasons.
Caster Semenya shows how happy she is with Olympic Q time @CapeTimesSA @TheCapeArgus @IOLsport #ASANightSeries pic.twitter.com/SkjzagegLN
— IndyCapeSport (@IndyCapeSport) March 22, 2016
She has a clear plan in how she intends to claim that Olympic gold medal in Rio, and it’s all about times. In order to reclaim her former glory, when she ran a blistering 1min 55.45sec to win the 2009 world title in Berlin as an 18-year-old – just 2.14sec shy of Czech athlete Jarmila Kratochvilova’s world record of 1.53.28, set in 1983 – Semenya has undergone a serious programme of speed work in the 400m.
Caster Semenya chatting to us after her race @CapeTimesSA @TheCapeArgus @IOLsport #ASANightSeries #Athletics pic.twitter.com/jL0yYwTmQ7
— IndyCapeSport (@IndyCapeSport) March 22, 2016
She ran a personal best of 51.47 a few weeks ago, and then in her first 800m of 2016 at Tuesday night’s Athletics South Africa Night Series at the Green Point Stadium, the North West athlete recorded an Olympic qualifying time of 2:00.23. The fact that she ran the entire race well ahead of the pack makes her time even more remarkable, as she had no one to push her to a quicker mark.
That might come at the South African National Championships in Stellenbosch on April 15-16, and most definitely in the Diamond League meetings leading up to the Olympics.
“If you compare our eight-weeks programme to what we have run today, then I will say ja, it is a huge improvement (to 2012). Training about eight weeks to 10, and you are able to run 51 seconds over 400, and the two-minute barrier in the 800, obviously something is working,” Semenya said at the side of the track at Green Point.
“My body and how it recovers from training sessions, I don’t need to rest a lot – I need to do more every day, which works quite well for me. It’s all about understanding my body better.
“The training (with Jean Verster) hasn’t changed that much – the thing that we changed was no rest in between my sessions. We have to train more like Monday to Friday, where we must try to balance the energy system – the aerobic and anaerobic. That’s what we are trying to do now, and you can already see that the results are good. We do more speed, but with an easy rhythm and good times.”
Her encouraging form in the 400m has made Semenya considering doing both events in Rio, and she may even be part of a strong South African 4x400m relay team alongside the likes of Wenda Nel, Youth Olympic 400m hurdles champion Gezelle Magerman and Tsholofelo Thipe.
But it’s all about winning that 800m gold in Brazil, which could see Semenya do a few 1 500m races to improve her stamina and even a 200m sprint for speed.
Since recording a quick 1:57.23 at the 2012 Olympics, her best times have been 1:5892 (2013), 2:02.66 (2014) and 1:59.59 last year. So Semenya is determined to be on an upward curve in Olympic year.
And what about breaking 1:55 in Rio? “We are not focusing on those times!” Semenya giggled, flashing her famous smile. “What we need to do is to do well, get back to winning times. Times will come – we are not in any rush. What we need to do is just get into the Olympics… do what we are best at.”
Highlights of the #ASANightSeries at Green Point will be on SABC 2 at 9.30pm tonight @CapeTimesSA @TheCapeArgus @IOLsport #Athletics
— IndyCapeSport (@IndyCapeSport) March 22, 2016
The third leg of the ASA Night Series will take place in Port Elizabeth on April 19.
@IndyCapeSport - Independent Media