Controversial runner Caster Semenya arrived home to South Africa on Tuesday after her predictably dominant victory in the women’s 800-metre race at Rio 2016.
The athlete handed her gold medal to her wife Violet Raseboya after arriving at the Johannesburg Airport following the row over her involvement in the Olympics.
Semenya, 25, who once had to undergo humiliating gender testing to prove she was female, took gold and set a new national record of one minute 55 seconds.
The airport was packed with fans, family and friends for the return of the athletes, but the biggest cheer and loudest singing was reserved for Semenya.
Semenya thanked fans who chanted her name - but, asked what she wanted to say to her critics, she answered: "I do not have the time for them."
She added: "It's great to be here and receive such a welcome. I will always do my best. I hope that in four years' time there will be even more people to fill the airport."
South Africa's 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist Caster Semenya (C) is welcomed after arriving at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa August 23,2016 /REUTERS
Semenya's ‘intersex’ condition of hyperandrogenism gives her testosterone levels that are three times those usually found in women and approaching those of a man.
She was once forced to take medicine to suppress her testosterone amid claims she had an unfair advantage, but the rules have since been challenged.
This means she can now run without the medication, and Britain’s Lynsey Sharp admitted yesterday that it was ‘difficult’ to race against Semeya.
Sharp, 26, finished sixth in the 800m final and has previously complained the South African’s condition resulted in ‘two separate races’.
Sharp, who ran a personal best, hinted that her feelings are shared by fellow athletes Melissa Bishop and Joanna Jozwik, who also missed out on medals.
The three embraced after the race in what Sharp said was a show of unity, adding: ‘We see each other week in, week out, so we know how each other feels.’
Meanwhile silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba and Margaret Wambui, who got a bronze, have also faced questions about their testosterone levels.
When Semenya first emerged on the scene she was forced to have gender testing and subjected to cruel comments about her appearance.
She has no womb or ovaries and instead, due to a chromosomal abnormality, internal testes.
Semenya spent 11 months on the sidelines while she had tests but was cleared to compete in 2010.
By this time the International Association of Athletics Federations had set a testosterone threshold.
It meant Semenya could run again if she took medicine to suppress her testosterone levels.
The ruling was then challenged by Indian runner Dutee Chand, who also has hyperandrogenism.
In 2015, the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended the rules for two years, meaning Semenya could come off the medication.
Critics agree the way she has been treated has shamed the sport, and harks back to 1966 when female competitors at the European Athletics Championship were subjected to a ‘nude parade’ past three gynaecologists.
Semenya has previously said: "I think sports are meant to unite people. It’s not about being more muscular, it’s all about sport."