Athletics Stars Headline SA Team to CAA Champs

Caster Semenya headlines a group of 30 women in rich athletic form selected to represent South Africa at the CAA Africa Senior Championships in Porto Novo, Benin from 27 June – 1 July 2012.

Semenya, the 2011 World Championships 800m silver medallist, has already qualified for the London 2012 Olympic Games and needs to compete at the Championships as part of the selection criteria agreed on with SASCOC. (Full criteria and exceptions are available on the Athletics South Africa website).

On 5 April, Semenya broke the 2min barrier for the first time on South African soil since Zelda Pretorius ran 1:58.85 in 1991, clocking 1:59.60, her best this season. Semenya has only represented South Africa at one Africa Championships in 2009 as junior athlete in Bambous, Mauritius.

Sunette Viljoen currently holds the Africa and South African record in the women’s javelin throw and has also qualified for the Olympic Games.

The 29-year-old will be competing at her fifth Africa Championships this year and with her brilliant track record (gold in 2004, 2008, 2010 and silver in 2006). The reigning champion won bronze in Daegu at the World Championships in September 2011 with 68.38m. Her best this season is 61.84m in Ostrava on 25 May.