There have been a lot of controversies involving the Olympics in recent years, but South African mid-distance runner Caster Semenya, is one complicated issue that is only worsening. Semenya won Olympic Gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, but athletes and the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) believe that Semenya might be at an advantage over other female athletes due to a pre-existing medical condition. Semenya is hyperandrogenous, meaning that she has naturally-occurring high levels of testosterone. While competing in 2009, she was questioned about her biological sex and was asked to take a sex verification test by the IAAF. Semenya passed, but in 2018 the IAAF announced new rules which require hyperandrogenous athletes to take medications that lower their testosterone levels to be able to compete. Female athletes who choose not to lower testosterone levels can compete in the male category, are restricted from national competitions and switch the type of distance running or race in events for intersex athletes.
I understand that the IAAF must set out rules and obligations for athletes to maintain fairness in all sports, but there is a line. Semenya’s case is only asking for trouble. Both sides of this issue have valid arguments. Semenya cannot control her medical condition: she is not purposefully adding testosterone to her system, so she isn’t cheating. On the other hand, it’s not fair to her or other female athletes that her body is naturally producing testosterone which allows her to train and compete differently. This case and all the actions that the IAAF has taken throughout this discussion have been arguably discriminatory. The IAAF wanted to ensure fairness, but by doing so, they completely sidelined athletes like Semenya who don’t fall under a designated category, which isn’t fair to her either. This is why Semenya is challenging the ruling in the court system. According to CNN, Semenya’s challenge of this ruling began last Monday and is taking place at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
There has also been criticism that these new rules were directly made in response to Semenya’s success in the sport. These rules do specifically single out her event and not many others, which can’t be entirely coincidence. Semenya is a very unique case; not every female athlete is dealing with these issues, which is what makes these rules even more complicated. It seems like the IAAF is making these rules to target her, which isn’t fair for the other athletes in any event or gender-based category. These rules are supposed to be general guidelines that every single athlete needs to follow, not just special cases. Special cases should be dealt with privately between the athlete and the IAAF, not on public display. Since 2009, Semenya has been ridiculed from all directions because of the public nature of the actions that the IAAF has taken in her specific case. They need to stop making a spectacle of this whole situation and take this matter into the courts to deal with it fairly and honestly. Hopefully, with Semenya’s challenge, this will happen and allow her and other athletes with similar conditions to find a way to compete without all this constant back and forth.
