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Caster Semenya’s sublime form at last week’s African Athletics Championships in Durban ahead of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games has sparked renewed controversy regarding her gender.
The middle-distance athlete was the standout performer at the champion-ships. Not only did she win gold in her favourite distance, the 800m, but she was also crowned African champion in the 1 500m and 4x400m relay.
Semenya blasted away the opposition in the two-lapper in a blistering 1:58.20. She later returned to the track and, together with team mates Wenda Nel, Justine Palframan and Jeanelle Griesel, set a new national record of 3:28.49 in the women’s relay final.
On April 16, she became the first person to win all three of the 400m, 800m and 1 500m titles at the South African National Championships in Stellenbosch. She set world leading marks of 50.74 and 1:58.45 in the first two events, and hit 4:10.93 in the 1 500m, all within nearly four hours’ span of each other.
Her performances this year have been astounding, and it is showings like these that make her the indisputable favourite for gold in Rio next month.
However, Semenya’s irrepressible form has unfortunately once again renewed the debate on the issue of her gender and the unusually high testosterone levels her body naturally produces.
In international sports and the Olympic Games, a female athlete is not eligible to participate in the female category if the amount of androgenic hormone exceeds the permissible limits, on the grounds that the condition could confer an unfair advantage.
In September 2014, Dutee Chand, a sprinter from India who was barred by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) from competing against other female runners, sought to appeal the ruling and asked to be reinstated.
In July 2015, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) suspended the IAAF ban, thus reinstating Chand’s right to compete. The world governing body was given two years in which to file scientific evidence justifying the ban. In the absence of that, the ban will be declared void.
Semenya has come under scrutiny for the same issues. It therefore came as no surprise when, after her remarkable performances in Durban, a journalist last Sunday questioned IAAF president Sebastian Coe about the world body’s appeal to overturn the decision by CAS.
Coe, a world 800m record-holder, attended the final day of the African Championships last week.
He responded by saying: “I wouldn’t like to see any athlete in any discipline under sensitive situations being demonised.
“We’re talking about human beings here.”
The IAAF has until next year to prove to the CAS that raised levels of naturally produced testosterone can enhance performance. So, whatever the outcome, it won’t have any bearing on Semenya’s results in Rio next month.
Semenya was unfazed on the matter, saying that she would much rather channel all her energy on preparing herself so she can be at her best for the Olympics.
“I don’t have time for that. I focus more on the issues that concern me, such as training and performing.
“Whatever is happening is beyond my control, so I cannot comment on those issues,” she said after the event.
When Semenya received the baton in the last leg of the 4x100m relay, she was so far behind, it seemed impossible to reel in the two runners ahead, but she made it seem effortless.
“This race was fantastic, running against the best, and to produce a performance like that, it is all about teamwork,” Semenya said.
“When I saw we were in the top three, I knew I had to wait for the right moment and I closed the gap and executed over the last 100m. I enjoy relays more than anything.
“I’m a bit overwhelmed, I felt fantastic after this win and, as always, I’m doing it for my people,” she said.
“This win is all about teamwork and is about communication and not commands,” she said of the relationship between her and coach Jean Verster and training partner Samuel Sepeng.
“Remember, she’s a human being, she didn’t make herself,” said Verster about his athlete.
However, when Semenya arrives in Rio next month and makes a clean sweep, the debate around her will no doubt rage on again.
