Caster Semenya Will Carry Olympic Flag

South African runner had to undergo gender test three years ago
By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 18, 2012 3:22 PM CDT
Caster Semenya Will Carry Olympic Flag
Caster Semenya in 2009.   (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

At the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, the flag of South Africa will be carried by Caster Semenya, that nation's 21-year-old champion runner. Semenya receives the honor three years after the track and field governing body subjected her to a gender test, igniting a major controversy. Semnya said she drew inspiration during those days from the support she got from Nelson Mandela, notes ESPN. "Everything I do, I do for him." (Mandela, incidentally, turned 94 today, reports the BBC.)

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