Mokgadi Caster Semenya is a South African Olympic athlete who won gold in the women's 800m at the Olympic games 2016. Her upbringing was not a privileged one, having grown up in a remote village in the African countryside. However, despite not having access to high-end facilities that many of her competitors train with, her athletic achievements are impressive.
In recent years Semenya has come under huge scrutiny over her gender and been blocked from world athletic events like the World Championships in 2019. Why? Because Semenya was born with intersex traits- meaning her body produces atypically high levels of testosterone. Due to a IAAF ruling this now means that she would have to take suppressants to compete in shorter events. Yet this supposed advantage is all natural and therefore considering she has not cheated; she has been penalised for no other reason than a biological trait she was born with.
Shouldn’t Semenya’s physical abilities be celebrated the same way as Usain Bolt's height and Michael Phelp’s wingspans are? This the ruling prevents her from racing in only the distances she competes at (not all track and field). Honestly, it’s as if Semenya is being targeted for being a strong woman.
Written by Jasmine St Pier
Artwork by Isabel
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