Caster Semenya: Double Olympic champion ‘not ashamed of being different’

Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya says she is “not going to be ashamed” of being “different”, and will “fight for what is right” amid her ongoing dispute with athletics authorities.

Semenya, aged 32, was born with differences in sexual development (DSD) and is unable to participate in female track events without using testosterone-reducing medications.

She aims to hold World Athletics responsible for what she perceives as discrimination against athletes with hyperandrogenism. She has recently shifted her focus towards challenging the authorities rather than pursuing medals and has abandoned her goal of competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Semenya discusses a wide range of topics with Sally Nugent of BBC Breakfast, saying:

• Even though she “embraces” her peculiarities, she felt that she was “different” from five years old.
• She is not going to change “to fit in.”
• “Leaders” in sport are “turning women against women,” and she wants to encourage women to “have a voice.”

‘I will embrace my differences’

Hyperandrogenism is a medical condition characterized by elevated levels of testosterone, a hormone that promotes muscle growth and strength.

In 2018, regulations were introduced stipulating that athletes with Differences in Sexual Development (DSD) could only participate in female track events between 400m and the mile if they reduced their testosterone levels.

In March, World Athletics decreed that DSD athletes must undergo hormone-suppressing treatment for six months before becoming eligible to compete in all female events.

Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic 800m gold medalist and three-time world champion in the same event, stated, “I believe that if you are a woman, you are a woman, regardless of the differences you have. I’ve realized I want to live my life and fight for what I believe in.”

Semenya competed in the 5,000m at the 2022 World Championships but failed to qualify for the final.

In July, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in her favor in a case related to testosterone levels in female athletes.

Semenya’s case at the ECHR was not against sporting bodies or DSD rules but specifically against the Swiss government for not protecting her rights, dating back to a Swiss Supreme Court ruling three years ago. The ECHR determined that the Swiss government failed to safeguard Semenya from discrimination when its Supreme Court refused to overturn a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upholding the World Athletics rules.

The case has been referred to the Grand Chamber of the ECHR for a final ruling following a request for referral from the Swiss government.

‘I am not going to be somebody I am not’

Caster Semenya has contended that taking testosterone-reducing medication could jeopardize her health and that the ruling deprived her and other athletes with Differences in Sexual Development (DSD) of the right to rely on their natural abilities.

In her autobiography, “The Race To Be Myself,” Semenya revealed that she found out about her unique physiology after a gender test in 2009, discovering that she “did not have a uterus or fallopian tubes” at the same time as the rest of the world. She emphasized that she has “nothing to hide” and asserted her identity as a woman, stating, “I am a woman and have a vagina just like any other woman.”

Semenya expressed her commitment to fighting injustice, advocating for inclusivity and diversity, and empowering women. She emphasized the importance of women voicing their concerns and standing up for what is right.

She criticized sporting leaders for creating divisions among women and urged them to focus on their responsibilities of governing, promoting the sport, and letting athletes entertain, rather than dictating what gender or sex should look like.

World Athletics responded by stating that their primary motivation has always been to protect the female category and that high testosterone levels provide an unfair advantage in women’s sports, necessitating guidelines on testosterone thresholds to preserve the integrity of the female category.