Johannesburg — THE OR Tambo International Airport has witnessed some rather curious events this year, but Caster Mokgadi Semenya's arrival in August was a sight to behold.

A chorus of song and drums and the blare of hundreds of vuvuzelas greeted Semenya and the South African world championship squad when they arrived at the packed airport following the incident-filled World Championship in Germany.

The gold medal-winning Semenya was visibly overwhelmed by the support she received from her fellow South Africans when she faced the crowd for the first time after a dramatic week in Berlin.

And, always alert to jumping on the bandwagon of any emotional debate, political party representatives arrived at the airport decked out to the nines in Democratic Alliance, African National Congress and Congress of the People colours, flags and other paraphernalia.

Kindergarten ringleader Julius Malema has used whatever platform he's managed to get onto and he wasn't about to pass up such a priceless PR opportunity as he turned the whole thing into a political rally.

There were times when the fiery youth leader looked as if he was about to pass out from the sheer excitement of it all.

Athletics SA president Leonard Chuene also took to the podium and lied for all he was worth.

Truly gripping stuff.

Not to be outdone, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela launched into a highly charged tirade that must have woken up several sleeping goats in Duduza.

And where was Semenya during all this? The teenager politely remained in her seat and looked lost while the adults made nuisances of themselves.

This airport has been at the centre of some truly interesting times and who could forget that Joel Santana's fate as Bafana Bafana coach was sealed after he babbled his head off at the same place.

He confidently dared his erstwhile South African Football Association employers to fire him after leading Bafana to eight defeats in nine matches in October.

Just minutes after landing at OR Tambo following an overnight flight from Iceland, the cheeky Brazilian said he could not be bothered by the furious calls for his head as Bafana's string of defeats was not enough ammunition for anyone to be fired anywhere in the world.

"I was not appointed to win friendly matches and nowhere was it indicated that I also had to win the friendlies before the World Cup," the man said.

He was fired four days later.

But it wasn't all bad as the airport was the venue for the welcome given to the Springboks to celebrate their Tri-Nations victory, also in October.

What a year!

A merry Christmas and a happy new year everybody.