Caster Semenya must take drugs if she wants to compete in short distances, is it right?
Caster Semenya has changed the world of track and field forever. What she has been subjected to is horrendous, but sadly for her it’s not a level playing field and sometimes the greater good has to win.
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Word had leaked out a couple of days before the start of the 2009 world championships in Berlin.
There was a girl from South Africa running in the 800m who had to be seen to be believed in more ways than one.
So when Caster Semenya jogged around in the heats it was obvious the IAAF official who’d given the tip was preparing the world’s media for one of its biggest scandals.
By the time Semenya lined up in the final, the extraordinary performance of Usain Bolt setting a new world record in the 100m was already consigned to the backburner.
What she did in that race would change the world of track and field forever.
The 18-year-old beat the world’s best by 15 metres, clocking 1min55.45sec to leave the crowd in the Olympic Stadium stunned.
They barely applauded as she did a victory lap with the South African flag. Officials actually then pulled her off the track half-way around to avoid further embarassment.
The consensus was overwhelming . . . she was a man.
It was then revealed that the IAAF was awaiting the results of a gender verification test and so began a scandal which divided the sporting world for almost a decade.
In that time public opinion swayed back and forth.
Semenya kept winning - apart from a brief time where she went on treatment to lower her heightened testosterone levels - and by the time she won Olympic gold in Rio and then the world title in London in 2017 the IAAF decided enough was enough.
They declared it wasn’t a level playing field and that Semenya, and others who had a different genetic makeup, had an advantage over other female athletes because high testosterone levels make it easier to increase muscle size and strength.
By this time the shy teenager had grown into a hero who was admired around the globe for her strength in fighting, not just for her career, but for the rights of many others in similar situations.
There was a level of acceptance among her competitors. The “she’s a man” stories from the beaten brigade subsided.
But the sport’s governing body knew it had to draw a line in the sand.
After a messy fight the IAAF eventually won the day when the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Semenya, who has not been beaten over 800m since 2015, will have to take medication to significantly reduce her testosterone if she wants to run internationally at events between 400m and a mile.
The Semenya camp haven’t ruled out another appeal. To race at this year’s world championships in Doha, she would have to start the medication next week which has been estimated would make her seven seconds slower meaning she would likely lose her status as a dominant champion.
Although interestingly she won the 5000m at the South African championships a week ago - a distance outside the limits imposed by the IAAF.
What shouldn’t be forgotten in this whole complex saga is that none of this is Caster Semenya’s fault.
She has done nothing wrong. She was born this way. She hasn’t been cheating.
But unfortunately there is no escaping the fact that she has an unfair advantage over the rest of her competitors. No matter how hard they train, their bodies simply can’t compete with Semenya’s.
It’s not a level playing field and as sad as all of this is for Semenya, sometimes the greater good has to win.
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