Caster Semenya: Adapting to distance running and mentoring the next generation

Caster Semenya is a busy lady on and off the track.

The 32-year-old as bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on Tokyo 2020, reaching her first World Athletics Championships since 2017 – albeit in a new event – racing in the women's 5000m at Eugene 2022.

In February, she also nearly anchored a South African 4x2km mixed relay team to a historic first medal at the World Cross Country Championships in Australia. They finished fourth in a time 23:50, just 24 seconds outside the medals.

While Semenya adapts to the rigours of distance running, she is ploughing back the experience she had gained over a career spanning nearly 15 years and counting. Semenya has been working as an assistant middle-distance coach at the TuksAthletics Academy at the University of Pretoria.

Caster Semenya: The coach

Semenya is assistant to her former coach, Samuel Sepeng, who is the younger brother of another South African middle-distance legend Hezekiel. Hezekiel won the men's 800m silver medal at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games becoming the first black South African to clinch an Olympic medal.

When she trained under Sepeng, Semenya clocked the fourth-fastest 800m time ever when she set a national record of 1:54:25 at the Paris Diamond League meeting in June 2018. The duo have joined forces mentoring high school athletes between under-14 and under-19 age groups at the academy.

Speaking to Olympics.com, TuksAthletics manager Ziyanda Menziwa said the young athletes were excited about working with one of the legends of South African athletics.

"They are motivated to do well. They see her as an icon and want to be like her. She is still an athlete. Even now, she will run (at the provincial championships). It is a good collaboration between coach Samuel and Caster," Menziwa said.

In addition to serving as a positive role model for young athletes, Semenya also uses her experience to expertly guide them through difficulties such as injuries.

Caster Semenya: Coaching through action

A bonus for the youngsters is watching their idol putting theory into action, competing at the highest level of the sport. Semenya hopes to continue to grow in the distance events to the point where she can challenge for a medal.

Speaking to City Press, a South African Sunday newspaper, Semenya said she was not too fazed about competing at this year's world championships in Budapest in August but instead had her sights on Paris 2024.

"My fitness levels will decide my destiny. If my body allows me to go to Budapest, I'll go. But I'm not going to chase it [the qualifying time]; it will come to me, as always," Semenya told City Press.

"The target will be the Olympics. Not that this season is not important, but I'm still maturing in the long distance. I'm in the adaptation phase, and my body is starting to fit with it. I'm just enjoying myself at the moment, and things will fall into place at the right time."

In May 2019, a World Athletics eligibility ruling came into effect which prevents female athletes with Differences in Sexual Development (DSD) from competing in women's events from 400m to one mile (1600m), unless they reduce their testosterone levels.

Semenya vowed following that ruling that she would not take any testosterone suppressing medication, terming the rules discriminatory and unfair.

She first trialled going down in distance, where she made some early inroads. Semenya set a South African 300m best at the beginning of 2020 at an exhibition meeting in Johannesburg, posting a time of 36.78 seconds. In March 2020, she raced to her maiden provincial 200m title chopping 0.32s off her previous best with a winning time of 23.49s.

Caster Semenya: Adapting to distance running

The global pandemic that followed provided Semenya time to re-assess her career, and she changed tack, deciding to move up instead of going down in the distance with the

"Moving from sprints to distance, you have to make decisions that make sense and that are not drastic or irrational," Semenya said after successfully defending her South African title in the 5000m in April 2021.

"You have to take calculated risks, I am 30 years old now, and if I were to do sprints, it would be a risk to my muscles. In distance, there is more time to work on the splits and find consistency."

Semenya slashed nearly 15 seconds off the personal best time she set two years earlier to reclaim her national title. She chopped another 20 seconds off that time in May but ultimately fell short of qualifying for Tokyo 2020.

Continuing her upward trajectory Semenya set another personal best at the South African championships in 2022 with a time of 15:31.50. Although she failed to meet the qualifying mark of 14:52 for the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Semenya reached the global showpiece courtesy of her ranking. Semenya finished 13th in her heat with a time of 15:46.12 missing out on a place in the final.

"I think it is great to be able to run here," Semenya said. "Just being able to finish the 5k, for me, is a blessing. I am learning, and I am willing to learn even more. It was hot, could not keep up with the pace, I tried to stick as much as I can. But you know, it is a part of the game."

Caster Semenya: Telling her story

Off the track, Semenya is working on her much-anticipated book titled "Silence All the Noise", which is expected to be launched in September. 

"My life has had its struggles, but it has mostly been a joy. Through my example, I want to educate, enlighten, and inform about how the world can welcome those born different," Semenya said in a statement.

"You may have heard some of my story over the years, and you might have seen me running or standing proudly on the podium at the Olympics. But there is still so much I need to relate about strength, courage, love, resilience, and being true to who you are. I want this book to show people around the world how to do just that."