Controversial South African runner Caster Semenya has happily handed her Olympics gold medal to her wife. Described in headlines as a “dilemma” or “ticking time-bomb”, some critics have argued that her participation in the 800 meters threatens the very nature of women’s sport as a “protected category”.
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But past year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended the IAAF’s ruling, stipulating that it “was unable to conclude that hyperandrogenic female athletes may benefit from such a significant performance advantage that it is necessary to exclude them from competing in the female category”. “Excuse me, my friend”, she said to the journalist.
That Semenya did to perfection as she held back until the final bend when she unleashed her speed to take to the front and claim SA’s second gold of these Games. We focused more on being the best that we can be, producing a good performance.
“I hope she blows away the competition”, 800-meter runner Phoebe Wright, who has run against Semenya, told Sports Illustrated.
Such is Semenya’s dominance this year – she ran her previous personal best last month – it was exactly how everyone thought it would go. I would have been disappointed with anything other than a medal last night, something which is always going to be hard in such a strong field.
A year ago 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 feel sorry for them”.
Following the controversy, she did an interview with YOU magazine and said: “God made me the way I am and I accept myself”.
So obsessed were Europeans with Sarah Baartman’s protuding derriere – a characteristic typical of the Khoisan people who lived for centuries at the southern tip of Africa – that a British Marine surgeon whisked her off to London and put her in a cage for all the world to see. I have known and competed against her since 2008. But Saturday, Semenya simply refused to answer questions about the IAAF’s binary definitions of what a woman is, or isn’t. “As you can imagine, it’s frustrating to finish a race to be asked about your competitor’s performance”.
Before Rio 2016 Sharp said that there were “obvious” athletes with heightened testosterone.
She said previously: “Everyone can see it’s two separate races so there’s nothing I can do”.
She added: “It’s great to be here and receive such a welcome”.
“For me, it’s not a new thing running against those girls”.
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Van Niekerk, the new world champion is due to compete in the Diamond League and did not arrive home with the team as he had to travel to Lausanne, Switzerland for the Games.
