RIO DE JANEIRO — There was a time when many of the things South Africa’s Caster Semenya experienced were cruel and invasive, cutting to the very core of her biology and whether it was fair to her to run against women.
For an elite athlete on the international stage, it could have been a humiliation and a reason to run away from the public eye. For Semenya, it was only the beginning of a long, complicated road to a gold medal Saturday night in the women’s 800 meters.
Andrew P. Scott, USA TODAY Sports
Caster Semenya of South Africa claims gold in the women's 800.
Some people still say hurtful things about Semenya, and her competitors’ true feelings are often betrayed by their silence. But for the most part, her story is now viewed largely as a positive one. Because regardless of the controversy surrounding hyperandrogenism, a condition that naturally produces higher levels of testosterone in women, watching her run is a thing of beauty.
Semenya crushed the field in the 800 meters, sprinting away in the final 100 after briefly yielding the lead on the final lap. With a devastating move around the turn, she opened up on the field and won in 1:55.28, beating Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi by 1.21 seconds. Margaret Nyairera Wambui of Kenya took the bronze.
“I came here and wanted to run a good championship, and it is just fantastic,” Semenya said.
USA TODAY
Chased by controversy: A timeline of Caster Semenya's career
Not everybody was pleased.
Polish runner Joanna Jozwik, who finished fifth, didn’t want to answer a question about Semenya. Asked why, she shot back: “You know why.” Britain’s Lynsey Sharp said, “It’s out of my control. There’s nothing I can do about it.” And American Kate Grace stressed she was only concerned about the race she ran, finishing eighth. “Everyone’s competing according to the rules,” she said.
The controversy goes back to Semenya’s arrival in 2009 with a stunning victory in the World Championships. After that, she was submitted to an invasive gender test. And the IAAF ultimately ruled that women with higher testosterone levels than a threshold they established would have to compete using hormone therapy or undergo a surgical procedure.
Over the next several years, Semenya’s performance was up and down. But last year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended those rules for two years, ruling there was no evidence linking higher testosterone levels to performance in a quantifiable way. It’s unclear whether the ruling will change again in the future, but the IAAF plans to try again.
“This is a complicated medical issue, but I do think it’s actually a complicated procedure issue,” IAAF president Sebastian Coe said. “We presented the case for a level of testosterone and to set a protocol and the court of arbitration did not find in our favor around it. They sent us our homework and sometime between now and next summer we need to return. We’ve got the right people in the right place thinking about this.
Caster Semenya cruises to win in women's 800
Dan Wolken | USA TODAY Sports8 hours ago
RIO DE JANEIRO — There was a time when many of the things South Africa’s Caster Semenya experienced were cruel and invasive, cutting to the very core of her biology and whether it was fair to her to run against women.
For an elite athlete on the international stage, it could have been a humiliation and a reason to run away from the public eye. For Semenya, it was only the beginning of a long, complicated road to a gold medal Saturday night in the women’s 800 meters.
Andrew P. Scott, USA TODAY Sports
Caster Semenya of South Africa claims gold in the women's 800.
Some people still say hurtful things about Semenya, and her competitors’ true feelings are often betrayed by their silence. But for the most part, her story is now viewed largely as a positive one. Because regardless of the controversy surrounding hyperandrogenism, a condition that naturally produces higher levels of testosterone in women, watching her run is a thing of beauty.
Semenya crushed the field in the 800 meters, sprinting away in the final 100 after briefly yielding the lead on the final lap. With a devastating move around the turn, she opened up on the field and won in 1:55.28, beating Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi by 1.21 seconds. Margaret Nyairera Wambui of Kenya took the bronze.
“I came here and wanted to run a good championship, and it is just fantastic,” Semenya said.
USA TODAY
Chased by controversy: A timeline of Caster Semenya's career
Not everybody was pleased.
Polish runner Joanna Jozwik, who finished fifth, didn’t want to answer a question about Semenya. Asked why, she shot back: “You know why.” Britain’s Lynsey Sharp said, “It’s out of my control. There’s nothing I can do about it.” And American Kate Grace stressed she was only concerned about the race she ran, finishing eighth. “Everyone’s competing according to the rules,” she said.
The controversy goes back to Semenya’s arrival in 2009 with a stunning victory in the World Championships. After that, she was submitted to an invasive gender test. And the IAAF ultimately ruled that women with higher testosterone levels than a threshold they established would have to compete using hormone therapy or undergo a surgical procedure.
Over the next several years, Semenya’s performance was up and down. But last year, the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended those rules for two years, ruling there was no evidence linking higher testosterone levels to performance in a quantifiable way. It’s unclear whether the ruling will change again in the future, but the IAAF plans to try again.
“This is a complicated medical issue, but I do think it’s actually a complicated procedure issue,” IAAF president Sebastian Coe said. “We presented the case for a level of testosterone and to set a protocol and the court of arbitration did not find in our favor around it. They sent us our homework and sometime between now and next summer we need to return. We’ve got the right people in the right place thinking about this.
