Semenya has been plagued by a almost constant debate over whether or not she should be allowed to compete in the woman’s 800m since she burst onto the scene winning gold at the 2009 World Championships.
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She has been scrutinised and stared at and questioned but on Saturday night came a moment simply to marvel at the supreme athleticism of Caster Semenya – a 25-year-old woman who, when all was said and done, powered her way to an 800m gold with an outstanding performance.
But a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling past year judged the International Association of Athletics Federations restrictions illegal, freeing Semenya to compete in her natural state.
A tearful Lynsey Sharp has claimed it is now hard to compete against Caster Semenya and other hyperandrogenic athletes after the rule to suppress testosterone levels was overturned.
The IAAF is set to challenge the CAS decision, meaning the issue is unlikely to go away any time soon.
Semenya said she believes sports can and should unite people.
Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula, the Democratic Alliance and government were just some of the people who congratulated the star.
“I think it was a wise decision (to pull out of the 400m) because the heat was just insane”. The main focus here was just to run a championship.
“It’s not about being more muscular, it’s all about sport”. When you walk out of your apartment, you think about performing. You just want to do better. “The advice would be for everybody to go out and have fun”.
Semenya – whose breakthrough triumph at the 2009 World Championships was overshadowed when she was humiliatingly subjected to gender testing – has since re-emerged as the dominant figure in the women’s 800m.
Partially in response to those rumblings, world athletics chiefs implemented restrictions on testosterone levels in 2011. The first 400m, we pushed ourselves. The coaches told me: just focus on running, nothing else. “Obviously we know we’re quicker the last 200”. The field was really good.
Wambui’s bronze came despite the fact she ran the entire race from 250 to the finish in either in lane 2 or outside of lane #1.
Semenya’s victory will not please everyone.
“We’re here to talk about the 800m that we ran today”.
Meanwhile, the path to first place, and double double glory, was less routine for Great Britain’s Mo Farah.
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“Very happy to be here but was hoping to perform a bit better than that”, Grice said. Kenya’s Margaret Wambui was able to overcome having to run a whole lot of extra ground and get past Canada’s Melissa Bishop to snag the bronze in a new pb of 1:56.89 as Bishop was 4th.
