Briton Lynsey Sharp who was placed sixth in that race argued that the decision to overturn rules on testosterone suppression made competing against the women’s Olympic 800m champion, Semenya, and other hyperandrogenic athletes hard.
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The rule was appealed previous year by sprinter Dutee Chand of India, who ran here in the preliminary heats of the 100 meters and the 400 relay and finished close to last in both.
Semenya and Chand are not the only ones the rules were apparently lifted for.
There’s speculation other athletes have the condition, as well – and it’s led to criticism that they have an unfair advantage.
Since her arrival in track and field in 2009, when she won the world title as an 18-year-old newcomer, Semenya has been the unwilling face of one of the most complex and sensitive debates for the sport. It was only half the story.
Semenya spent 11 months on the sidelines while she had tests but was cleared to compete in 2010. The IAAF has never commented publicly on the medical details of Semenya’s case. She has also received a fierce outpouring of support from South Africans, including celebrities and politicians. She has, understandably, always run from excruciatingly personal and intrusive questions about whether she was born with internal testes, no uterus and has high levels of testosterone – in short, absurd questions about matters that are nobody’s business but her own. Organizers, respecting the IAAF suspension, didn’t let her.
“Every athlete’s dream is to win a medal, especially in the Olympics”, said Semenya.
Under IAAF rules requiring her to take hormone-supressing drugs, Semenya won the silver medal in her race in the London Olympics four years ago.
Is Caster Semenya a man or a woman?
Tall, loping 20-year-old Margaret Wambui, surprise victor of the Kenyan trials this year, looks as if she could be a medal challenger, as could Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba, the world indoor champion, after the two went through together from the first semi.
Lynsey Sharp refused to wade into the Caster Semenya controversy in Rio – but is adamant the South African is not a certain gold medallist. She’s really come of age since London 2012, when she was a controversial selection after registering a shock victory at the British Championships. Semenya has been scrutinized, criticized and analyzed for seven years now so she’s used to the assumption that she’s some kind of freak.
Semenya’s pride was evident as she went on to to talk about how she and Raseboya met when they were teenagers. Struggling with injury, and going through multiple coaching changes, Semenya slips down the pecking order in the 800.
Earlier this year she set a new personal best of 1min 55.33secs, the fastest time in the world since 2008, and she bettered that in Rio by 0.05s.
Not even the criticism she’d faced in the run-up to the final shook her, as she maintained her focus throughout the Games.
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The Court of Arbitration for Sport disagrees, and in July last year, it gave the IAAF two years to produce evidence proving exactly how much of an advantage hyperandrogenic runners had over everyone else.
