Semenya has been in sterling form this season having run the season best time and then winning her heat and the semifinal race in Rio de Janeiro.
Advertisement
I have meant a lot to my people. I have done well.
“I can look back on the things that I’ve accomplished and really be proud and really grateful for what track and field has brought to my life”. “The main focus here was just to run a championship”, Semenya told reporters.
“I don’t think it detracts”, she said about the focus on her identity and personal life, according to a report by the Independent.
Partially in response to complaints from rival runners and coaches that the condition gave her an unfair advantage, world athletics chiefs implemented restrictions on testosterone levels in 2011.
And, tomorrow, Caster Semenya can expect a hero’s welcome, when she arrives home with her gold in the 800 meter race.
Semenya is the 11th fastest woman in 800m history, her’s is not close to the World Record either.
“Everyone can see it’s two separate races so there’s nothing I can do”, she told the Daily Telegraph. The painted plaster cast of Baartman’s body was displayed in Paris’ Musee de l’Homme until 1974. Please see our terms of service for more information. Organizers, respecting the IAAF suspension, didn’t let her. It’s not about discriminating people. You know, it’s not about being muscular.
In a press conference prior to the run, frustration about the matter was reflected in Semenya’s own words: “I think [sport] is all about loving one another”.
“They’re making you a better person”, she said. It’s just fantastic. I think I make a difference.
The unpalatable but unavoidable fact is that while the other two medallists, Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba (1:56.49) and Kenya’s Margaret Wambui (1:56.89), have been identified as hyperandrogenic, both have not been subjected to the kinds of innuendo which Semenya has experienced. Ahead of the 2016 Games, there was speculation she could break Czech Jarmila Kratochvilova’s world record of 1:53.28 set in 1983.
Throughout the questioning and debate, South Africans continued to support Semenya.
“Caster Semenya represented SA women so well”, read one tweet posted on the South Africa Broadcasting Commission’s website.”Been crying for the past 4 hours”, read another “Caster!”
Previous year the CAS arbitrators released a detailed 162-page decision that recognised not only the large volume of evidence presented by both sides but also the “complex legal, scientific, factual and ethical issues” at play. I refused to answer questions from any other media on the topic.
“Very happy to be here but was hoping to perform a bit better than that”, Grice said. We’re not here to talk about the IAAF.
Advertisement
Semenya replied: “Tonight is all about performance”.
