Caster Semenya Returns To Track After Gender Testing
Caster Semenya has been in the news a lot in recent years because of the controversy surrounding her gender tests. Her story is a very sad one but as it has now come full circle, it has a happy ending. From her blistering performances on the track to doubts over her gender, Caster Semenya has not had an easy few years. There were doubts that she was not a woman, then inconclusive tests were conducted, then more tests and now finally she has been given the all clear to race again. Hopefully, she can put all of her troubles behind her and start to dominate women's running all over again.
Caster Semenya's troubles started before she won the gold medal in Beijing in 2008 running in the 800 metres race. The athletics committee were concerned over Semenya's muscular physique and her unbelievably fast times in the junior level of the competition, so they ordered her to take a gender confirmation test. With the test conducted and the results being produced, Semenya competed in the 800 metres final at the Olympics. She very easily won gold. The other competitors publicly stated that they did not think that Semenya was a woman and that she should not be allowed to race. Semenya had to go through all of this and she took it in her stride.
Then the tests results came back and for some reason they were inconclusive. What the results showed were that Semenya had no womb or ovaries and she had testosterone levels that were three times higher than the average woman. If she was not found to be a woman, then she could have been stripped of her gold medal. With the results showing that she was not a woman but also not a man put her future in jeopardy. Through no fault of her own but by an accident of birth, she had to undergo intrusive tests and also her future was in limbo.
The problem with this whole situation from Semenya's point of view is that sexual determination tests are very complex. A scientific analysis of a person's s*x requires some very involved and lengthy testing. The problem is in the fact that gender is very different from s*x. A person's gender is societal and personal, while a person's s*x is biological. In order to determine a person's s*x, tests need to be done by gynaecologists, biologists, geneticists and psychologists. So the question remains that with all of these tests being conducted, would they prove that Semenya was a woman or not. If the tests show that she was not a woman, she could have been stripped of her gold medal, but if she is judged to be a woman then the other athletes have a big challenge ahead of them.
In the end, the story ended on a happy note for Caster. She was judged to be a woman after the tests and has now been allowed to race again. The findings of the medical board were accepted by the governing body and she can now compete with immediate effect. Many coaches gave their reactions with one of them being happy to welcome Semenya back into the sport and said that all the other runners would have to come up with something truly special to beat her. The fact of the matter is that with her high levels of testosterone, will Semenya just be unbeatable on the track and will it be fair to the other runners. Well the athletics governing body judged her to be legal, so it seems the other runners have a tough task ahead of them.
The story of Caster Semenya's s*x controversy has finally come to a happy conclusion. She is all set to tear apart the running world by setting the fastest times ever seen by a woman. The other women in the sport better up their game because the way she runs, there will be no stopping Caster Semenya.
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