Caster Semenya Soars to a Victorious Comeback in Finland
Caster Semenya has made a defiant comeback after a year's absence from the track to win her first two races at the Lappeenranta and Savo Games in Finland. The 19 year-old champion from South Africa left her competition behind to win the race at 2 minutes and 4.22 seconds, defeating Finn Mari Jarvenpaa who clocked in at 2:04.71 at the 800m race on Thursday. Capitalizing on her renewed vitality, Semenya then soared to victory in Lapinlahti, scoring an optimistic 2:02.41 on Sunday. A drastic change from the 1:55.45 gold-winning performance of the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Semenya will have to work hard to regain her previous form, only recently been given permission to compete by the International Association of Athletics Federations after the controversy surrounding her gender testing. But after a roller-coaster year of triumph and heartache, Semenya's successful return to the track is a mark of her determination to return to the top of athletics.
A Welcome Return
Semenya returns to competition after an 11-month hiatus from the track, taking time to focus on her studies and seek refuge from the media glare surrounding her gender testing. Now, she is back in training with coach Michael Seme to prepare herself for the championships in New Delhi, hoping to make the South African team for the Commonwealth Games in October. These two wins come as a fiery start to what will hopefully be another victorious year on the race track for Semenya, who is ready to get back into the competition. According to BBC Sport, Semenya claims that “I was a little bit nervous because it has been a long time not competing. It's a new beginning...[but] maybe it was good for me to rest after I ran my fastest time last year. I'm still young, the muscles are still developing, so yeah, I can run faster than that.”
Semenya has faced a difficult 11 months: dealing publicly and politically with the taboo subject of gender identity, the prospect of losing her hard-fought medals, and being prohibited from competing in the sport for which she has such great prospects have all paved a rough road for her. Facing heavy criticism worldwide for its mishandling of the situation, the IAAF finally released a statement in favour of Semenya. “The IAAF accepts the conclusion of a panel of medical experts that she can compete with immediate effect.” Not only is this news greeted eagerly by Semenya and her country, but by sports critics worldwide who have shown their unrelenting support throughout the saga, demanding more appropriate ways of dealing with such a sensitive subject. Lawyer Jeffrey Kessler anticipates that lessons will be learned from this ordeal. “Hopefully, this resolution will set a precedent so that no female athlete in the future will have to experience the long delays and public scrutiny which Caster has been forced to endure.”
Stepping Back into the Race
Semenya has appeared to put all these troubles behind her, remaining a step ahead of the game in her latest victories. Both coach Seme and agent Jukka Harkonen strategized that the low-key events in Finland would help ease Semenya back into the world of competitive sport, emphasizing that they didn't want to throw the star athlete back into the heat of the game right away. Gradually building up Semenya's strength and fitness through the smaller competitions will allow her to recover her previous form and physique, as well as allowing her to deal with the returning glare of the press, who will no doubt be eager to keep a critical eye on her. It looks as though Semenya's spirit remains undaunted, however: having dealt with the success and criticism as she has at such an early age, only to overcome her adversaries and return to the track with two consecutive wins is a prominent sign of what greatness is yet to come.
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