Caster Semenya: A rebel with a cause

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South Africas Caster Semenya crosses the finish line to win the womens 1,500m at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

PHOTO: AFP

JOHANNESBURG – When 18-year-old unknown South African Caster Semenya pulled off a stunning 800 metres triumph at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, she could never have imagined the drama that would follow.

On July 10, the latest chapter in

a long-running court saga

Although she declared it a “positive outcome”, she added that she would continue to demand dignity and respect for athletes.

“The fight will never be over,” she said. “As long as we have injustice, we fight till the court.”

She had barely touched the tape to claim gold in the German capital 16 years ago when controversy erupted over whether she should have been allowed to compete.

Some rivals questioned whether she was a woman.

Officials reacted by forcing her to have a sex test, and it was not until the following year that the woman born in a northern village could run again.

Recalling the sex test to a London audience, Semenya said “being told you are not woman enough can be disturbing”.

Now 34, Semenya was born with differences in sexual development (DSD) and some opponents believed her biological make-up gave her an unfair advantage.

Later, when she refused to take drugs to supress testosterone, a hormone that increases muscle mass,