London, Aug. 12 (ANI): South African athlete Caster Semenya has refuted claims that she had deliberately chosen to win silver rather than gold in last night's women's 800m final at the London Olympics 2012.
BBC TV pundit Colin Jackson had earlier claimed that the South African did not want the attention that went with gold after all the controversy surrounding her gender, and had opted to leave her run too late to pass on to Mariya Savinova.
"That was a season's best, and I'm very happy with it. I will maybe have a street bash when I get home," the Daily Express quoted Semenya, as saying, who was the fastest qualifier in the woman's 800 m final."My coach isn't so happy, because it wasn't the plan, and I left my run too late, but that was a fast race. This was my first Olympics and I will learn from this for the next one, and hope to win there," she added.
Semenya was ordered by the International Association of Athletics Federations to undergo gender testing three years ago after she won the 2009 World Champions as an 18-year-old, following concerns over her muscular physique and running style, the paper said.
She was subsequently suspended, but cleared to return eleven months later, and it is thought she underwent hormone therapy to reduce high testosterone levels, the paper added. (ANI)
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