Semenya To Carry South African Flag During Olympic Opening Ceremony

When the 2012 Summer Olympic Games kick off on July 27, one of the parts of the ceremony I look forward to is the Parade of Nations and which athletes have been given the honor of carrying their nation's flag into the Olympic Stadium.

When the South African team marches into London's Olympic Stadium, the South African flag will be carried by now 21 year old Caster Semenya, who beat out double amputee 400 meter runner Oscar Pistorius for the honor. 

"It's such a privilege for me to do such a big thing like that," Semenya said in an audio message. "To carry the flag for the team, it's such a big thing."

Yes, it is considering the drama she went through three years ago when she exploded onto the world scene and won the 800 meter world championship in the fifth fastest time ever run in Berlin.

She was sidelined for 11 months as the IAAF ran controversial gender tests on her, and she fought through injuries to win silver at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu last year.  

She's considered one of the favorites to take home a gold medal from these games, and after all the drama she went through, I'll be rooting for her to do just that.