Caster Semenya has spent years proving herself on the world’s biggest athletics stages, but her latest competitive outing delivered a different kind of lesson: sometimes, strength and determination are not enough to secure a win.
The sporting icon has become the first celebrity contestant to exit Tropika Island of Treasure: Réunion Island, after she and her partner, Thando Zwane, failed to survive a nerve-racking elimination challenge.
Speaking after her departure, Semenya reflects on the disappointment of leaving the competition early, the unexpected demands of reality television and why the experience has given her a new appreciation for teamwork.
“Nobody goes to an island to compete and to leave first, but the moment it happened, I felt at peace. I compete to win, always, but I also respect the game. I was disappointed, yes, but more gratitude that I got to be there at all.”
For an athlete accustomed to pushing through physical limits, the outcome was a reminder that not every contest can be approached with the same formula.
“In sport I have learnt: you do not always control the result, you control your response,” she says.
The challenge that changed everything
Semenya and Zwane, competing as Team Orange, faced Team Blueberry Cheesecake, comprising Leandie du Randt and Anke Coetzer, and Team Green Apple, made up of Nadia Nakai and Andile Khuluse, in the elimination round. The task required the pairs to stack 21 Tropika bottles of different sizes on an unstable wooden disc. With their wrists tied together and each contestant allowed to use only one hand,
Team Orange appeared to be in the running before their structure collapsed, forcing them to start over. Despite several attempts to recover, Semenya and Zwane could not make up enough ground and finished last, bringing their island adventure to an end.
For Semenya, the challenge exposed a side of competition that her years in athletics had not necessarily prepared her for.
“Discipline, endurance, mental toughness, those are my daily bread. I know how to push through pain and stay focused under pressure,” she says. “But Tropika is not the track. It is not just physical, it’s puzzles, balance, patience, strategy. So my background helped, but it could not do everything for me.”
The challenge also demanded a level of composure that became increasingly difficult as the pressure mounted.
“I was telling myself, ‘Steady, Caster, steady.’ It looks simple on TV but that structure moves with every breath. You need to be still in your mind first, then your hands follow,” she says.
“I was trying to control my breathing, communicate with Thando, and not rush.”
Semenya believes their urgency to get the job done may have contributed to their downfall. The challenge required the pair to work in sync, with every movement potentially affecting the stability of their tower.
“We wanted it too much, too quickly. Sometimes when you rush to fix a mistake, you create another one. The structure punishes any sudden movement. If we had slowed down even more and found a shared rhythm, maybe the outcome would have been different. But that’s the game.”
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The experience offered a humbling contrast to athletics, where training, speed and physical conditioning play a central role in performance.
“On the track, if you train hard, you run fast. In Tropika Island of Treasure, you can be the strongest but if you can’t balance, listen, and be patient, you fall,” she says.
“It reminded me that success is not just about power, it’s about finesse and teamwork.”
Even the setting could not distract from the demands of the competition. Asked when she realised the experience was tougher than expected, Semenya points to the very challenge that sent her home.
“You think, ‘It’s just bottles.’ Then you are standing there, the sun is hot, the thing is swinging, your partner is counting on you. I said to myself, ‘Yo, this island is not playing around.”
More than a competition
While the elimination was a disappointment, Semenya says her time on the island was not defined by the result alone. She speaks warmly of Zwane, describing him as calm, positive and driven, with a creative approach that complemented her competitive nature.
“Thando and I clicked quickly. He is a calm, positive soul and very driven. What worked was respect. We listened to each other. I brought the competitive spirit, he brought creative thinking and good energy. We didn’t have a lot of time to build chemistry, but in that short time, we became a real team.”
Away from the track, where preparation and routine are familiar territory, reality television introduced the additional pressures of living with strangers, being separated from family and performing under constant observation.
“The mental pressure. Physically I was ready, but the emotional pressure, living with strangers, being away from family, the cameras, the time pressure, working with a partner, that is tough,” she says.
Yet she found comfort in the relationships that developed among the contestants, despite the competitive stakes.
“What surprised me positively was the love among the teams. We compete hard but off-camera we support each other. That humanity was beautiful.”
Also Read:Tropika heads to La Réunion for season 12 showdown
Beyond the competition, Réunion Island itself left a lasting impression.Semenya says its mountains, ocean, volcanic landscape and cultural diversity reminded her of home. Her favourite moments came before the day’s challenges began, when she could take in the surroundings away from the cameras and the pressure.
“My favourite moment was early morning before challenges, when it was quiet and you could hear the island breathing. It’s a place of strength.”
Semenya may have left the competition first, but she is not treating the experience as a defeat that defines her. Instead, she says the journey gave her a new friendship, challenged her assumptions about competition and reinforced the importance of how one responds when things do not go according to plan.
“That every ending is a beginning. I left early, but I left with a new brother in Thando, with respect for different kinds of challenges, and with the reminder that a champion is not defined by winning every time, but by how you walk away.”
“I walked away proud, grateful and a better person!”
With seven duos remaining, the competition on Tropika Island of Treasure: Réunion Island continues, with contestants facing the unpredictable combination of strategy, physical demands and teamwork.
- Caster Semenya became the first celebrity contestant to be eliminated from Tropika Island of Treasure: Réunion Island after failing an elimination challenge with partner Thando Zwane.
- The elimination challenge required pairs to stack 21 Tropika bottles on an unstable wooden disc with wrists tied and one hand per contestant, where Semenya and Zwane finished last.
- Semenya highlighted that the competition tested skills beyond athletics such as patience, balance, strategy, composure, and teamwork, which her sports background did not fully prepare her for.
- Despite the early exit, Semenya valued the experience for the relationships formed, personal growth, and gaining respect for different types of challenges.
- Semenya praised Zwane for his calm and creative approach, expressed appreciation for the supportive atmosphere off-camera, and admired Réunion Island's diverse and beautiful environment.
