The controversy surrounding Caster Semenya winning the women’s 800m at the Rio Olympics doesn’t look like subsiding any time soon.
Semenya has been labelled as an ‘intersex athlete’ by some after results from a gender test revealed she has no womb or ovaries and has internal testes, the male sexual organs which produce testosterone, thereby explaining why her testosterone levels are much higher than a normal female.
The real issue here however is whether or not Semenya should be able to compete as a woman against other female athletes?
Due to her ‘genetic advantage’ she was required to take hormones to balance out her higher than normal testosterone level, which appears to have been an unprecedented measure taken by the IAAF before the 2009 World Championships.
This drastic course of action bought Semenya back to the field. However, after a landmark decision in the Court of Arbitration in 2015 when Dutee Chand – an Indian Sprinter who also has naturally-occurring high testosterone – won a case when her lawyers argued that it was discrimination to not allow her to make the most of genetic advantages.
After this case Semenya wasn’t required to take hormones anymore to lower her testosterone level and she started to dominate in the women’s 800m again.
Semenya’s gold medal-winning performance was undoubtedly the most controversial at the Rio Olympics. However to those who have been quick to criticise and call for Semenya to be banned from sthletics maybe they should consider this. Basketball players are not sanctioned for being tall, and men are not screened for testosterone levels.
A male runner could also have a ‘genetic benefit’, but that would be permitted.
It’s an ‘ethical minefield’ and a very sensitive issue so who are we to sit and judge and cast aspersions on whether somebody is a female or a male?. If God created Caster Semenya with an extraordinary ‘genetic advantage’ or in other words the biological equivalent of a turbo charger then she has been blessed, is that her fault?
Smell the fear
Guest
Well said
Let The One King Rule
Guest
'If God created Caster Semenya with an extraordinary ‘genetic advantage’ or in other words the biological equivalent of a turbo charger then she has been blessed, is that her fault?' No, but neither is it Yohan Blake's fault that God made him male, and thus rendered him ineligible to compete in the women's 100 or 200, which he would handily and easily win. Women's sport exists as a separate category from men's sport because men enjoy 'the biological equivalent of turbo chargers' relative to women, and the only way for women to be able to enjoy an athletics career is to create a separate category in which they are protected from having to compete against the 'biological turbo engines' that male athletes enjoy by virtue of being born male.
jameswm
Roar Guru
There's a lot to say in this, but I'll try to keep it brief. Firstly, the CAS decision is an interim one. They gave the IAAF 2 years to prove testosterone gives an unfair advantage, You only have to watch the Olympic 800 to see this. The IAAF is addressing this. And it can also change its rules to clarify it all for us. This is not over, far from it. Next, males ARE indeed screened for testosterone levels. It is a standard part of the drug testing regime, and taking drugs to elevate T is a breach. If you are comparing being tall and competing in basketball with being partly male and competing in women's events, then you have seriously missed the point. Women's sport is "protected". You have to be female to be able to compete. Mens basketball is open to anyone. You have also misread it all if you think anyone is calling for Semenya to be banned. This is just not true. What many are saying is that Caster should not be able to compete in the (protected) women's category. No one is trying to determine if Caster is female or male. What is being determined is whether Caster should be able to compete as a female, with the blatantly obvious chromosomal advantage. And what those sticking up for Caster's right to compete as a female are missing is this - what about the rights of the XX females? They have no chance of winning. Let me ask you this - do you think that Rio 800 race was what you want to see in sport?