Caster Semenya’s Gender Once Again Becomes a Source of Debate Ahead of Her Race in the Rio Olympics

Since she shot into the limelight and effortlessly whizzed past her panting competitors in the 800 M race, Caster Semenya’s sex has been a source of controversy and even ridicule.

During the IAAF 2009 World Championships she was even forced to undergo a humiliating gender-verification testing before a race. A test whose results were leaked to the media and she was revealed as intersex with three times the amount of testosterone present in an average female. A leak that greatly distressed Semenya and her family.

With Semenya’s father telling the New Yorker “I don’t even know how they do this gender testing. I don’t know what a chromosome is. This is all very painful for us—we live by simple rules.”

Now as she prepares to run in Rio, Caster has been put under the ugly spotlight once again with people debating whether she should be allowed to compete in the races due to her testosterone levels.

With Sports Illustrated writing this:

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And and the Daily Mail writing this :

 

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Thankfully, Semenya is over the B.S and was quoted saying ‘I don’t have time for that. I am an athlete and I focus more on the issues that concern me: training, perform, eat, sleep. So that thing — you know, it’s not part of me.’

About this writer:

Sue Watiri