South Africa ’s Caster Semenya returned home following her 800m gold medal-win at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin .She was greeted by headlines from the country’s newspapers, expressing collective national pride for her achievement. “Welcome home, Caster, our champ. Caster, this nation is proud of you and we stand behind you, from Cape Town to Musina.”, screamed the Johannesburg-based The Times Newspaper.
I, Aunorius, really think her achievement should give hope to those South Africans in the far flung and unnoticed rural areas who want to be top achievers that they too can be champions. Caster, who was born in a small village of Ga-Masehlong , has overcome a number of obstacles in getting to where she is today - hopefully her triumph will inspire her country to honour her.
There have been calls for government to rename the new South African public transport system, the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT), after her. A lot is also expected from corporate South African to offer her incentives and rewards for making her country proud in Berlin .
There is talk in some quarters that the great honour for Caster should come from President Jacob Zuma, who has promised to fight poverty and improve the lives of all South Africans. They say Zuma should ensure that Caster is removed from poverty. The state should see to it that Caster receives some monetary reward for her achievement.
Afterall, it would not be the first time that excellence is rewarded with money. In neighbouring Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe awarded $100,000 to Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry for winning a gold medal at Beijing Olympics swimming events.
Caster deserves something from this nation, and as The Times summed it up: “Her achievement is the greatest single sporting achievement by South African women on track, and it might be the greatest ever in all disciplines.”
Is a handshake from the president and applause from South Africans enough for South Africa ’s newest sporting heroine?
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