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CASTER Semenya hopes to find her best form of the season, according to coach Maria Mutola, when she lines up for the women’s 800m race at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, tonight.
Semenya narrowly failed to qualify for this month’s IAAF World Championships after making a last-ditch attempt following recovery and rehabilitation from a long-term knee injury.
“We did not want to risk anything before the World Championships so we didn’t want her pushing herself to the limit when she tried to qualify,” Mutola said this week.
“But she knows all the people she’s running against in Zurich and she’s ready.”
Mutola, however, said they would need to remain wary of pushing the two-lap specialist too hard for the rest of the season, in order to ensure she is ready for next year’s African Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games.
“This year she needs to build her confidence.
“She has not broken two minutes this season, so that’s our focus at the moment and we’re hoping she will win this race.”
World Championships bronze medallist Johan Cronje said he hoped to build on his impressive form in the men’s 1 500m race.
Cronje had been tied up with commitments at work and home after returning from the global showpiece in Moscow last week, but was confident he would be able to brush aside any distractions and hold his own in Zurich.
“I’ve been rushing around since I got back, trying to get everything done,” he said.
“For the first few days I was on the phone doing media interviews, and then I had things to do at home and I needed to catch up at work, so it’s been a hectic period.”
Khotso Mokoena, who was seventh at the World Championships, and Zarck Visser, who failed to reach the final, will compete in the men’s long jump in Zurich.
Sunette Viljoen, sixth in Moscow, hopes to close out a relatively disappointing season with a solid showing in the women’s javelin throw.
Meanwhile, Jamaican sprint sensation Usain Bolt will headline a sparkling line-up for the Zurich leg of the Diamond League today.
Fans at the Letzigrund Stadium will witness 17 new world champions, 17 world leaders, 15 reigning Olympic champions, and 5 current world record holders in action.
Bolt, who will race the 100m, will be joined by teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who also won the sprint double at this month’s World Athletics Championships in Moscow.
Reconfirming his credentials as one of global sports’ biggest draws, Bolt visited the Swiss headquarters of football’s world governing body, Fifa, ahead of the track meet.
The 27-year-old self-avowed Manchester United fan was invited to attend next year’s World Cup by Fifa president Sepp Blatter.
“For years, he has dominated speed events,” said Blatter. “I’m very proud that this great gentlemen is here today.
“He also showed again recently that the 4x100m (relay) is very important to him, which proves that he is a team player, just like in football.”
Back on the track, there is a rare clash of two queens of long-distance running, Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar.-Supersport.
Online Reporter