Dutee trusts her legal team and is therefore, focusing on training and performance.
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She has attracted unwanted attention from the media and South African team officials have gone to great lengths to protect the 25-year-old.
There had been talk of Semenya smashing the world record here, though Czech Jarmila Kratochvílová’s 1:53:28 – which is haunted by suspicions of foul play and is the longest-standing record – proved insurmountable.
They have mostly learned to keep their thoughts to themselves about whether their sport needs rules to somehow dial back the competitive advantage they perceive women like Semenya to have.
But the athlete from the rural village of Ga-Masehlong was unflappable.
But the gold medal went to 37-year-old Ruth Beitia of Spain who came out of retirement four years old to realize her dream.
“I don’t think it detracts”, she said about the focus on her identity and personal life, according to a report by the Independent.
She said she believed she could challenge Semenya but it was really no contest. It is not about looking at how people look, how they speak, how they run, it is not about being muscular. It is all about sport. “I think it was a wise decision”. Caster has done nothing to be in that situation and have those high levels. The tests – likely to verify Semenya’s sex and also to measure her testosterone levels – led to her being declared ineligible to compete for 11 months.
Caster Semenya is the Olympic champion almost seven years to the day after she arrived in track and field and sparked a controversy so complex and so sensitive, the sport is still struggling to deal with it. The coach told me to go out there and had fun, and fortunately my last 200m was stronger, but the ladies are strong, did a fantastic job, so well done to them. And that was the main focus. I mean a lot to my people. She posted an image saying: “Be happy in front of your haters”.
Semenya could feel spectators’ probing eyes on her as she shook hands with her opponents and pulled a fallen runner to her feet. “It’s a warning. Try me”. African runners are born and train in areas at high altitude. One of the most popular hashtags in recent days has been: #HandsOffCaster.
Semenya is not the only hyperandrogenic woman competing in these Olympics, just the most successful.
It was one of few occasions where Semenya has spoken publicly about her situation. The youth league of the ruling party, the African National Congress, said Ms. Semenya “must not be victimized”.
“We’re here to talk about the 800m that we ran today”.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Caster”.
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Yet even as a proud Semenya completed her victory lap draped in the South African flag, she did so under the weight of an issue that transcends sport. As in Rio, 10 medals were secured in each.
