South African athlete Caster Semenya said a special meeting with Nelson Mandela inspired her to return to the track following the controversy over her gender.
The 20-year-old won silver in the 800-meter Sunday night at the track and field World Championships, two years after she blitzed the field in the same event in Berlin — a run that sparked doubts over her sex.
Semenya was cleared to compete as a woman in July 2010, but her life continued to be played out in headlines devoted almost entirely to the controversy rather than her running.
She revealed Sunday that advice from the former South African president convinced her to continue competing.
After Berlin, she said, "I went to see him, and he told me, 'You're still young, you just have to toughen up and face the world.' "
Semenya's form coming into the championships in Daegu was unknown, but only an inspired run from Russian Mariya Savinova prevented her from retaining her world title Sunday. Now, she is a clear contender for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Afterward, she dedicated her performance to Mandela.
"I was doing this for him," Semenya said. "He's a very good man. He gave me the good advice, that we are South Africans, we are a forgiving country and we live in peace. So that's what I needed to do."
