The IAAF ruled that women with high testosterone levels would have to bring those levels down below the normal range for men, either by taking testosterone-suppressing drugs or by having their internal testes surgically removed. Shannon Rowbury, a three-time U.S. Olympian, says Semenya and intersex athletes threaten the integrity of women’s sports. In fact, ahead of the Olympics, Dutee had listed a meeting with Semenya high up on her wish list before conceding that it would possibly stir a lot of curiosity, “I would love to meet her and hopefully have someone convey my thoughts to her since language could act as a barrier”, she’d told ESPN.
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South Africa Caster Semenya crosses the finish line. #HandsoffCaster on Twitter has been trending with thousands of messages of support tweeted.
South Africa’s Caster Semenya competes in the women’s 800 meters in Rome on June 2.
Semenya dominated her country’s championships in April, winning the 400, 800 and 1500m on the same day, while she has also run the world-leading time this year.
That hasn’t stopped her critics from projecting even more.
“So, while they are performing if the media influence affects her confidence, it will affect her outcome or if the media influence affect her focus it will affect her outcome”.
One of her latest tweets reads: “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as champion”.
Semenya thinks her treatment and the constant eye on her has been unjust.
“To be honest I’m not really focused on the records‚ I’m just focused more on doing my championships so I can run my better 800m‚” Semenya said.
In July 2010 the IAAF cleared Semenya to compete.
Then in 2011 the body decided that they would limit, through medication, the amount of testosterone a female athlete could have naturally in the blood.
This was challenged successfully in 2015 by Indian sprinter and intersex athlete Dutnee Chand.
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Semenya’s “eligibility to compete against other female athletes is not a debatable matter as she was born a girl and no amount of public humiliation can change her gender”, it adds.
