“I am a fighter. I never give up.”
― Caster Semenya
“Times don’t matter but medals matter.”
― Caster Semenya
“When I’m racing, I’m thinking about my own race. I’m not thinking about anybody.”
― Caster Semenya
“I’m the kind of person who doesn’t really focus on more negativity. I’m a positive person, and I look at things in a positive way.”
― Caster Semenya
“I am a dreamer. And what I dream of is to become Olympic champion, world champion, world record holder.”
― Caster Semenya
“I don’t give a damn what people say about me. I like me the way I am, and who cares what other people say?”
― Caster Semenya
“I don’t drink gases, like Coke – just juice and water, and I don’t drink alcohol.”
― Caster Semenya
“It’s all about the hard work, knowing your strengths and weaknesses. You work on what you know you can do best. I have speed.”
― Caster Semenya
“Education is the key. If you are educated, nothing can defeat you.”
― Caster Semenya
“I am not a fake. I am natural. I am just being Caster. I don’t want to be someone I don’t want to be. I don’t want to be someone people want me to be. I just want to be me. I was born like this. I don’t want any changes.”
― Caster Semenya
“I want to give myself new challenges. I want to get better.”
― Caster Semenya
“God made me the way I am, and I accept myself. I am who I am, and I’m proud of myself.”
― Caster Semenya
“With each year I experience, I become more relaxed. I know now what is important to listen to and what to ignore. You only get that with age.”
― Caster Semenya
“I could never give up athletics. Running is what I will always do. Even if, maybe, the authorities could have stopped me from running in 2009, they could not have stopped me in the fields. I would have carried on with my running; it doesn’t matter. When I run I feel free, my mind is free.”
― Caster Semenya
“I am of the firm view that there is no impediment to me competing in athletics competitions.”
― Caster Semenya
“My family’s support system is fantastic.”
― Caster Semenya
“If I win gold, I will dedicate it to Nelson Mandela. He is a hero in South Africa, and everything I do, I do for him.”
― Caster Semenya
“I don’t like fame, I prefer to have no profile. But this is not possible for me. This is what I do, so I just have to find a way of being comfortable with it.”
― Caster Semenya
“We are going to help the young talented athletes become world champions.”
― Caster Semenya
“I have been subjected to unwarranted and invasive scrutiny of the most intimate and private details of my being.”
― Caster Semenya
“I don’t like fame; I prefer to have no profile. But this is not possible for me.”
― Caster Semenya
“When I am in that lane, and I hear, ‘Caster Semenya from South Africa,’ I always know I am doing it for my people. They love and support me, and I will always do them proud; I will always put them first. Without them, I am nothing.”
― Caster Semenya
“I don’t understand when you say I have an advantage because I am a woman.”
― Caster Semenya
“The way you were born is the way you were born. Nothing can change it. I’ve got a deep voice. I know. I might look tough, but what are you going to do? Do you think you can change it? No.”
― Caster Semenya
“I am an athlete, and I focus more on the issues that concern me: training, perform, eat, sleep.”
― Caster Semenya
“I think I have made a difference. I have meant a lot to my people. I have done well. They are proud of me. And that was the main focus. I was doing it for my people, the people who support me.”
― Caster Semenya
“When you walk out of your apartment, you think about performing; you do not think about how your opponent looks. So I think the advice from me to everybody is just to go out there and have fun.”
― Caster Semenya
“The thing I’m afraid of the most with the 800m is injuries. That’s why I don’t normally like to run in a group: I prefer to be in front, just in case someone pushes me with their spikes. I don’t like stuff like that.”
― Caster Semenya
“People are always asking me for pictures, signing autographs, everywhere I go. Before, it used to irritate me, but I’ve learned to handle the situation. I cannot run away unless I lock myself in my room and never go out.”
― Caster Semenya
“Yes, I learned history at school; I know everything about apartheid. My dad, he bought the books about it, stuff like that. But I just move on with my life. It’s completely different for me.”
― Caster Semenya
“I think sports are meant to unite people.”
― Caster Semenya
“I’ve always liked to be on my own, since I was young. I like the sound of a quiet place. It helps me focus.”
― Caster Semenya
“I’d like to dress up more often and wear dresses, but I never get the chance. I’d also like to learn to do my own makeup.”
― Caster Semenya
“I’ve never bought my own clothes – my mum buys them for me.”
― Caster Semenya
“I really don’t have time for nonsense.”
― Caster Semenya
“I think I make a difference. I mean a lot to my people. I’ve done well. They’re proud of me.”
― Caster Semenya
“How the hell can you change gender in the rural areas? I am a woman. We don’t have good doctors; we are not rich to do such procedures.”
― Caster Semenya
“I don’t understand when you say I’m a man or I have a deep voice. I know I’m a female, so there’s no question for me.”
― Caster Semenya
“I always felt a bit different. When I’m with boys, I feel comfortable. When I’m with girls, I catch feelings. It’s not anything I can control.”
― Caster Semenya
“I know how I look like. I know how I sound. I know how I walk. I’m just gonna be me. I do me, and you do you.”
― Caster Semenya
“The field is fantastic, great runners, so the best you can do is stay in control, pace yourself well, and then utilise it when you can do better.”
― Caster Semenya
“We all know that we Africans just win medals in middle and long distance, and walking in their footsteps makes me feel proud, you know.”
― Caster Semenya
“It’s always great to perform, make the podium, and yeah, gold, silver, and bronze, will also encourage other nations, Asia, America to do better.”
― Caster Semenya
“I was world champion, but I was never able to celebrate it. It was a joke for me.”
― Caster Semenya
“I’m supposed to be famous, but I don’t think I like it so much.”
― Caster Semenya
“What is the point of me changing? If I became another person, it would be bad. If I acted in a different way with my friends, they would not be happy. It’s important I stay the same.”
― Caster Semenya
“If I’m at my best, I feel I must win gold all the time.”
― Caster Semenya
“It’s what my friends always tell me, that I’m a strong person and the best. But my head has to be clear before I run so nothing upsets me.”
― Caster Semenya
“From a young age, I was a pretty good listener, a strong lady. Maybe it helped me that I never felt intimidated by anybody. Even at school, I was always strong. I believed in myself, in what I do.”
― Caster Semenya
“For me, running is nothing. Honestly, it’s nothing.”
― Caster Semenya
“Athletics is athletics. When you do sport, you are gambling. You run, you win, you lose. It doesn’t matter if you are competing or you are not competing.”
― Caster Semenya
“To me I don’t think sport is something that I can take for life. I still have my academy, my studies.”
― Caster Semenya
“I am an athlete first and foremost, and it is vital for my competitiveness, my well being, and for my preparations for events during the European summer that I measure my performance against other athletes.”
― Caster Semenya
“Some of the occurrences leading up to and immediately following the Berlin World Championships have infringed not only my rights as an athlete but also my fundamental and human rights, including my rights to dignity and privacy.”
― Caster Semenya
“Life wasn’t good, but I could not walk away from something I love. I had a difficult life to face, but I had to try to keep dealing with the situation with the help of my family, friends, and training partners and manager.”
― Caster Semenya
“I gave up soccer. But I don’t think I can ever stop running.”
― Caster Semenya
“If someone was born the way she was born, are you going to blame him, or are you going to blame God? Whose fault is that? Nobody’s.”
― Caster Semenya
“I don’t have rights. Let’s put it this way: in athletics, I don’t have rights.”
― Caster Semenya
“Sometimes I was sad, sometimes happy. Just on and off. Always I felt welcome. It’s just, you know, sometimes as a human being, you cannot always be happy. You do good things, you do bad things, people talk.”
― Caster Semenya
“To me, I can be famous in sports. But to me, I cannot say it means a lot to be famous. Being famous is something I don’t like.”
― Caster Semenya
“It’s good to be well known. Everywhere I go it’s the same thing – autographs, pictures.”
― Caster Semenya
“Running a fast time is good; it’s better than winning. You can win with a slow time. To me, it doesn’t mean anything. I like running a fast race more than a slow race.”
― Caster Semenya
“Running is just a game to me.”
― Caster Semenya
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