The first time I saw Caster Semenya on television I thought she was a boy.
Remote in hand, I actually pressed the rewind button to make sure that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. They weren't. The 800m Olympic and Commonwealth champion herself is quite used to this happening. In a Being Caster Semenya interview on BET last year, she laughed about how the love of her life made the same mistake when they first laid eyes on each other.
"We met in a restroom in 2007. She was a runner and was being escorted by doping officials. She thought I was a boy and said 'What is a boy doing in here?' " We meet in an interview room at the Sandton Convention Centre for the first time since our last conversation in 2016. Back then she was wearing a brown leather bracelet, a gift from her wife, Violet Raseboya, engraved with the words "I love you".
Where is the bracelet, I ask.
"I don't need it," she responds.
But you said you wear all it the time, I retort.
"Yes, I did, but now I don't need it any more because I have this," she says matter-of-factly, raising her left hand to show the ring. "This is a better symbol."
How significant that the interview happens on November 1, the day the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) had pencilled in for the implementation of controversial - read "rubbish"- new rules on high testosterone levels in female athletes.
Thick-skinned Semenya is nonchalant about this gross violation of a person's right to express their talent in the way they were born.
"To be honest, there is nothing that they are doing to me. Those are their opinions. Obviously there is a legal matter and there are some things that we can't discuss."
The IAAF postponed implementing the new rules by five months after Semenya challenged them at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"As a human, I'm courageous. I'm a positive person. The fight is not for me but the upcoming generation," she says.
"I don't wanna walk around a village or go across Africa and see the dreams of the young ones shattered, you understand.
"To be honest, this is no longer about me.
"I've lived life, I've achieved everything I want in life and I can still achieve, you understand. So this is all about those young girls that can be denied the opportunity to pursue their dreams. You have to understand it is all about them."
It's all about hard work
I remind her that during our previous interview at the Potchefstroom University track she told me that, growing up, she entertained thoughts of becoming a soldier. In her inimitable way, Semenya is waging this war against the suits on the track.
"It is all about action. They always say actions speak louder than words. I'm an athlete. I perform. I produce results. I work hard.
"So that is an example. It shows that for me talking does not help because it is just talking. Those are just words someone can just say. What is it that you're doing?
"For me it is all about hard work. I train, produce results and I'll be the best. And that's what I want for the kids. They need to do the same thing. Work hard and become the best they can be."
Serial record-breaker Semenya is well on her way to being a global icon in her lifetime. Our conversation is taking place on the sidelines of the Discovery Leadership Summit, where she shares the stage with global influencers of the ilk of Patrice Motsepe, former US president Bill Clinton, his wife, former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Thuma Mina himself, President Cyril Ramaphosa.
I wonder out loud what, for Semenya, is the most pressing global issue.
"I'll always touch more on education," says Semenya, who graduated with a sports science degree from North-West University in March. That was just weeks after she blew to smithereens Zola Budd's 1,000m record, which had stood for 35 years.
Starting a family
Education is Semenya's passion because "we as Africans still have a long way to go".
"There are steps we jump more in education. We forget to teach kids basic skills they need to be better in life.
"We focus more on achievement. Instead of getting them into simple things, you load them with unnecessary knowledge. For me it's all about educating them in fundamental skills like listening and communication skills."
She perceives unnecessary work with kids as being "like me, Caster Semenya, going to a primary school and telling kids about my achievements".
"Why can't I just tell them how I got there, what inspired me to get there? Not that this is the car I drive. That is a messed-up situation. Teach simple skills. What does it take to be a champion, a great leader, a good person? Respect, love, appreciating yourself, accepting yourself. Those build a person to become better each and every day. Obviously when you grow, if you don't have those skills you will fail always."
Are these the teachings she will one day want to pass on to her own children? She wants five. Raseboya wants two. For the couple, starting a family is all about timing.
"Family you start when you know that you'll have time for your kids. At the moment we're too busy. If we were to start a family, maybe it would be in five years' time, I don't know.
"But of course it is between two people, two individuals checking the schedule and knowing if they'll have time for their kids.
"We are not in a rush for life. We want to be consistent. We want to be ready. You don't wanna have kids and you are not ready to raise them, or raise them in a wrong way. You've got to be certain. You can never tell, even tomorrow."
Soccer dreams
Would her kids' gender matter to Semenya?
"Gender? You know I prefer boys to girls."
Why is that?
"Boys are easy to manage."
Get out of here, Caster!
She lets loose a laugh and continues.
"Girls, you have a lot of work to do because you have to teach them a lot of things. Boys, it is easy to manage them because they are boys. Also they carry the legacy.
"I don't want my girls to go away as I took Violet from her family. You understand? It is gonna break my heart to see that."
So you are very possessive?
"I'm jealous when it comes to my things. But those are the things that you know you cannot control anyway. It is God's will. When you start a family you just appreciate what you have."
Semenya harbours hopes of playing for the senior women's national soccer side, Banyana Banyana.
"I'm a footballer naturally. That's where I started. If I get an opportunity to play, I'll play.
"Whatever time I get I will visit a [Banyana Banyana training] camp just to show, just to share skills.
"If they think I'm fit to be in the team, of course I'll be in. Unfortunately at the moment I'm still focused more on my athletic career. When I have time, of course I'll join them."
Does a busy bee like Semenya take time off and go on holiday with her wife?
"Holiday . I was in Durban in January. You see, holidays, they don't pay bills. Nice time never stops. I'm living my life to the fullest.
"When I want to go to holiday I go, but at the moment I'm focusing on important things in my life. It's all about building myself, building my brand.
"Wifey understands when we have time to go for holiday we go. But it is just a one-off thing because we travel the world a lot, which is tiring."
Sometimes she travels with you?
"Ja, I take her with sometimes.
"When it comes to holiday it needs to be once in a while. It is just a waste of money which could have paid bills for someone to go to school and change lives. That's what I believe.
"So holidays come once in a while. At the moment it is about building my family, helping the young kids to be better, building a household if I get a chance.
"We have a foundation, a club that obviously is all about success. Those are the things we are focusing on, it's about building a legacy.
Semenya is immensely inspirational to millions around the world. Her haters are a drop in an ocean of her admirers, who see her as a strong woman who refuses to be broken.
She features in Nike's anti-discrimination campaign alongside tennis superstar Serena Williams and US football legend Colin Kaepernick.
The campaign traces her life backwards and ends with the slogan: "I was born for this."
How has her life changed, going from the dust of Ga-Masehlong village in Polokwane to the global podiums of the world?
"I don't think my life has changed. I've just changed how I do things.
"Obviously each and every day I learn. I want to be better. I learn through human behaviour. I just look at a situation and say, OK, I don't wanna do things this way, I want to do them this way.
"You have to differentiate [she struggles with the word and laughs herself silly] between good and bad, right and wrong.
"I've been here for 10 years. In that 10 years I had to grow, it is all about maturity.
"We have learnt a lot in terms of how we treat people, how we want to be treated . respect. How to love, accept, appreciate.
"Building a brand, my friend, you need to be patient and consistent and not rush to be big.
"It is not about being big but producing results, building long-term relationships, loyalty."
As we wrap up our conversation, I'm curious about what book she is currently reading.
"Book? I don't read a lot of books, to be honest."
Why?
"Because I feel like sometimes when I read books I'm living someone's life. I'm that kind of person who looks at herself and lives life. It is about what I want in life and want to achieve. I read the Bible."
What's your favourite verse?
"The Lord is my shepherd. I fear no-one."
I fear no evil?
"Yes, that one."..