The announcement was made at Team SA’s glittering farewell banquet in Sandton.
Born in the tiny village of GaMasehlong in Limpopo Province, Semenya won the 800m title at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany in 2009. More recently, she powered her way to a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
“Caster is an absolute role model for all sportsmen and women in South Africa,” said SASCOC President Gideon Sam on Wednesday. “She’s proved herself to be an absolute inspiration in the face of adversity and we are sure that this inspiration will rub off on each and every member of the Olympic squad.”
Semenya, who will run the 800m at the Olympic Games, joins a long list of proud SA flagbearers at the Olympics. In Beijing it was Natalie du Toit who did the duty at both the Olympics and Paralympics.
She was the first woman to carry the flag at both the Olympics and Paralympics.
The team’s final banquet before London was celebrated in style with numerous top class entertainment acts, including trapeze artists, opera singers and violinists. Many of South Africa’s top sports stars, including golfer Ernie Els and soccer ace Lucas Radebe had inspirational messages of support for the team.
Team SA left for London on Thursday evening.
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