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  MARRY ME! MARRY ME! 2009-08-26  After smiling and beaming at the crowd that welcomed her, 800m gold medallist Caster Semenya finally shyly spoke into the microphone at the reception outside OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. "Hi everybody," was all the visibly happy 18-year-old would say to the thousands of people who had come to greet her. With men shouting "marry me" and "Caster is hot" she danced and sang and listened to speeches in her honour. She was flanked by her male counterpart Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, who kept a protective arm around her, shoving aside anyone that came too close to her. He too brought home a gold medal. They were then whisked away by security. Semenya, Mulaudzi, and the rest of the athletics team were greeted by Minister for Women, Children and Disabilities Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya. She told Caster she had the entire country behind her. "Caster, you've got us right behind you and we are walking with you all the way through," she said, embracing the gold medallist. Mayende-Sibiya led the team out of the terminal surrounded by a throng of shrieking fans. Semenya's grandmother and other family members, who stood against a wall inside the terminal, could not get a glimpse of her due to the crowd. Most people were trying to shake her hand or grab at her gold and green tracksuit. Once out of the terminal people thronged around her and she was swept off in a wave of bodies towards a bus waiting to take the athletes to a protocol room. Long jumper Khotso Mokoena, the silver medal winner at the International Amateur Athletics Federations World Championships, wheeled his luggage away and said he was ecstatic. "It was fantastic to be on the world stage and I feel so good to have represented my country." He said the entire team had rallied around Semenya and he was very proud that South Africans had turned out to support her. Running coach Eugene Thipe could not contain his emotions when he saw the crowd. "It was quite tough for the whole team, all the frustration and missing our families was a strain. But we are all overwhelmed by the support." Sapa 
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