Forget the tracksuits, count the medals: South Africa celebrate Rio revival

WINNING BY A MARGIN: Caster Semenya

When your president rouses himself on a Sunday to congratulate a South African sports team, you know you've done okay.

As in all sports, you can only judge a team by its results. And on that basis, South Africa’s Olympians at Rio 2016 have to be given a massive pat on the back. Even Jacob Zuma said they were "outstanding" on Sunday morning as the sporting carnival drew to a close.

Sure, we can pick out the weaknesses. The bizarre retro tracksuits, those who finished out of the top 50 in their events, the lack of ANY relay teams and the non-travelling hockey teams.

But history will reflect South Africa’s most successful Olympics since re-introduction in 1992. The target of 10 medals was met. And two glittering gold medals will return to these shores.

The golden moment of a fascinating week of athletics has to go to Wayde van Niekerk. He shattered Michael Johnson’s apparently indomitable world record over 400m and is now a household name around the globe.

Caster Semenya, tweeting bizarre pre-race assertions on a now-verified twitter account, did EXACTLY what she promised, winning the women’s 800m by an even greater margin than Wayde.

Shrugging off the approaching storm, Semenya said: "It's just fantastic. Thanks to team, my physios, my coach, my training partners, my wife and my family. Great job. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be here today."

The question is: will Caster's gold lead to a long-lasting change in attitudes to same-sex marriage among the traditionally conservative sporting fraternity? Let's hope so.

There's more, much more. Henri Schoeman’s surprise bronze in the triathlon - he finished just ahead of compatriot and medal favourite Richard Murray in fourth - was a major boost, Chad Le Clos became our most decorated Olympian by adding two further silvers in the pool, and Sunette Viljoen speared silver too with her opening throw.

Once more, South Africa emerges as an African Olympian giant, second only to Kenya’s middle-distance kings in the medals table. Nigeria, with a population five times ours, only managed a single medal, bronze in the football.

Yes, there were controversies. But the greatest of those were unifying tales, great stories that drew the nation together.

Luvo Manyango’s dramatic silver medal in the long-jump came despite drug addiction and a doping ban. Viljoen’s javelin tore through the heart when we read how her brother struck her twice when she came out as a homosexual.

And of course, Caster - ironically attempting to usurp the androgynous Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 1983 world record - sailed through the storm over her gender with aplomb. Soon, given a pace-maker, will we see her become the fastest woman ever over two laps.

We can talk of medals and success - Sports Minister Mbalula Fikile will make sure of that - despite a feeling in the gut that many of our athletes succeeded DESPITE the efforts of SASCOC not BECAUSE of the Tubby Reddy brigade.

But I’ll celebrate the 2016 Olympics in Rio because it brought the nation together. Some tried to talk about race, others gave up after both South African teams went out early in the football tournament.

For the TRUTH about 2016, you had to be on the social networks in the early hours of Sunday morning as Caster prepared to deliver the gold I guaranteed all week on eTV Sunrise.

The Rainbow Nation stayed awake, as many had for a fortnight of Brazilian brilliance. And we celebrated together as one when Mokgadi made a mockery of an 800m field shorn of Russians.

And who knows, when the dust settles, the woman that beat her in to the silver medal position at London 2012, Mariya Savinova, may  yet be deprived of her ill-gotten gold. And we’ll discover that “our Caster” did what Mo Farah and Usain Bolt did: defended her title.

But for now, let’s celebrate. With Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin on the way out, Wayde van Niekerk, Anasa Jobodwzne and Akani Simbine could be set for years of sprinting success for South Africa.

Building on success has never been a great South African sporting trait. This time, the opportunity should not be missed.

If there are still gods on Mount Olympus, Caster Semenya will be crowned queen of the 800m again tonight

Going for gold tonight: Caster Semenya

Caster Semenya will bring South Africa to a halt tonight, just as Chad Le Clos did a week ago in the swimming pool. And, just like her butterflying compatriot, Semenya is EXPECTED to win gold over 800m at the Olympic Stadium in London.

That we should put that kind of pressure on a woman who has been through so much is both unfair and typical of this rainbow nation, where so much is expected by so many from so few in the sporting world.

But the lass from Limpopo herself appears unfazed. Just this morning, after an emphatic semi-final win of 1:57.67 on Thursday night, we read: “I was a bit nervous but this British crowd makes me feel at home and reminds me of good memories. I have to stretch out on the last 100m.

“It’s about putting on the spikes and just running. The time I ran makes me very confident. It’s about running your own race, you have to think of yourself and about yourself. You have to run a good time to get into the final and that’s what I did. I'm happy with that.

“Sometimes, if you want to run a good race, you have to forget about everybody, just think about your own race because it can disturb you.”

If there are any gods left on Mount Olympus, Caster – the fastest qualifier for tonight’s final – will see off reigning Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo of Kenya and dangerous Russian Elena Arzhakova who have both been in far better form than South Africa’s favourite athlete in the build-up to London 2012.

The complex story of Mokgadi Caster Semenya is perhaps summed up best by the girl from Ga-Masehlong herself. She says: "God made me the way I am and I accept myself."

Most South Africans, having seen the pain she went through at close quarters, would agree with that statement. So many foreign watchers are only too keen to ignore the subtlety of such self-examination.

It was when Semenya exploded on the world stage at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, with a scorching time of 1:55.45, that Caster became a household name… and her life was ruthlessly picked apart.

With nobody to protect her, with the world’s media desperately seeking lurid details, somebody leaked the news that Caster Semenya had been subjected to gender testing just THREE HOURS before the World Championship final.

Lamine Diack, the IAAF president, admitted to a “leak of confidentiality” and insisted his organisation had been “obliged to investigate” because Caster had improved by 25 seconds at 1500m and eight seconds at 800 m "the sort of dramatic breakthroughs that usually arouse suspicion of drug use."

As international anger at Caster’s exposure grew, the IAAF denied racism and claimed the test was not about suspected cheating but to discover is she was suffering from “a rare medical condition". Though the IAAF later apologised and let Caster keep her medal and prize money, Wilfred Daniels, Semenya's coach, resigned saying Athletics South Africa (ASA) "did not advise Ms Semenya properly". Then, in September 2009, ASA President Leonard Chuene admitted he too had subjected Semenya to gender checks, but hadn’t explained the true purpose of the tests to the runner.

With no scientific investigation, no real justification, Caster was withdrawn from international competition until 6 July 2010 – and only then did the IAAF clear her to return to competition with no cogent explanation for the ordeal she had been forced to go through.

Her parents and grandparents in Fairlie near Polokwane were subjected to endless questioning about her teen years as “a tomboy”, her headmaster at Nthema Secondary School was pounced on when he admitted she had worn trousers rather than a skirt in grade 11. All this was seen as evidence of something that rigorous science had emphatically disproved.

Semenya returned to take silver at the 2011 World Championships and has been working at the Pretoria University High Performance Centre – which produced world-record breaking breast-stroke golden boy Cameron van der Burgh and the Oarsome Foursome – to put herself back on top of the world of two-lap running.

Tonight we will see the results of that effort. And find out just how strong Caster Semenya is. Let nobody raise the issue of gender if Semenya is crowned the world’s 800m queen again tonight.

South Africa's medal-winning schedule for London 2012. Hopefully.

The spear: Sunette Viljoen is a contender in the javelin

After a sensational weekend which saw Ernie Els, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Richard Murray and even Ajax Cape Town hailed as world-beaters around the globe, it's time to turn our attention to the London Olympics.

Though the top-secret opening ceremony (which will, I can reveal, may feature David Beckham as James Bond) is only on Friday, South Africa's campaign gets underway tomorrow with the football girls Banyana Banyana playing Sweden.

Though Banyana are unlikely to create an upset and take a medal, I reckon South Africa has SEVEN big medal chances, most significantly in the pool, though they may yet reach Sports Minister Fikile Mbulula's hoped-for haul of 12.

Below I've listed all the dates when South Africa can expect to claim silverware (bronzeware or even goldware).

With the swimming starting on Saturday, Chad le Clos and Cameron van der Bergh are both ranked in the world's top ten in several different events, with Le Clos likely to reach the final in both medley events (featuring all four strokes) and Van der Bergh strong in the breast-stroke over 100m and 200m.

The athletics doesn't get underway until August 3, with Caster Semenya, Khotso Mokoena, Sunette Viljoen and men’s 4x400m our most likely medalists. Semenya will have to improve significantly on her 800m times so far this year where she falls outside the world's top ten, but she has done this before, peaking out of the blue. She is predicted to win gold by the athletics bible, Track and Field Weekly.

Long-jumper Mokoena, our only medal-winner in Beijing four years ago, is an almost certain finalist, along with javelinist Viljoen and the men's 4x400m team, which might include Oscar "Bladerunner" Pistorius, who ran in the qualifiers when the team won silver at the World Championships. Pistorius, the first amputee to compete in an Olympics, admits "a strong semi-final" is as far as he's going to get in the individual 400m.

Keep an eye out too for LJ Van Zyl, the one-lap relay specialist who is also an outside hope in the men's 400m hurdles.

After his first world triathlon triumph in Hamburg last Saturday, Richard Murray, the 23-year-old from Cape Town, could big news on Tuesday, August 7 when the men take to the water, bike and trainers.

The three big team events (women’s football and men’s and women’ hockey) offer outside hopes too, particularly women's hockey, though all three teams are ranked outside the podium places.

Cycling could be another rich source of valuable metal for South Africa. Mountain-biker Burry Stander, a World Cup winner in Pietermaritzburg last season, is listed on my schedule of potential medal winners below, along with women’s road race contender Ashleigh Moolman and BMX hopeful Sifiso Nhlapo, so unlucky in Beijing.

I'm told Bridgitte Hartley could also medal in K1 500 canoeing among the blazing paddles at Dorney, and the men's coxless lightweight four came second in the last World Cup in Lucerne. There are other outside chances, but I’ve listed all the above below, featuring only Le Clos and Vd Bergh's strongest events. South Africa could also feature in the men's relay finals, Le Clos is entered for a record SEVEN events at the brand new aquadome.

SA medal winning Olympic schedule (* marks medal chance):

Wednesday, 25: Women’s football kicks off tomorrow with Banyana Banyana v Sweden

Friday, 27: Opening ceremony, watch out for Vikings and Romans

Saturday 28: Banyana Banyana second game

*Sunday 29: Women’s road race cycling: Ashleigh Moolman

*Sunday 29: Men’s 100m breast-stroke: Cameron vd Bergh
*Tuesday, 31: Men's 200m Butterfly: Chad Le Clos

*Thursday 2: Rowing: Men's lightweight four: Brittain, Ndlovu, Smith, Thompson
*Friday 3: Men's 100m Butterfly: Chad Le Clos

*Saturday 4: Men’s long jump final: Khotso Mokoena

*Sunday 5: Men’s 100m final: Usain Bolt etc and women’s marathon with strong SA team

*Tuesday 7: Men’s triathlon: Richard Murray

*Thursday 9: Women’s K1 500: Bridgitte Hartley

*Thursday 9: Women’s javelin final, Sunette Viljoen.

*Friday 10: Men’s BMX final: Sifiso Nhlapo

*Friday 10: Men’s 4x400m relay: Oscar Pistorius, Van Zyl, Fredericks, Ofentse Mogawane, Willie de Beer and Shaun de Jager.

Friday 10: Women’s hockey final

Saturday 11: Men’s hockey final

*Saturday 11: Final of women’s 800m: Caster Semenya

*Sunday 12: Men's mountain biking: Burry Stander