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Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 800 meters race, has slammed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for a new policy to ensure fairness for women competing at the highest level of sports.
Semenya, who suffers from disorders of sexual development (DSD), has testosterone levels above the typical female range and has launched legal appeals to be able to compete in the women’s category. Semenya said she expected more from IOC president Kirsty Coventry.
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Caster Semenya (RSA) runs during a women’s 5000m heat during the Oregon 22 World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field on July 20, 2022. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
“Personally, for her, as a leader, she’s African, I’m sure she understands that we as Africans come from a global South, you know, you can’t control genetics,” Semenya said Thursday. “For me personally, being a woman coming from Africa, knowing how, you know, African women or women from the global South are affected by that.”
The IOC said it would use genetic testing to verify the biological sex of competitors in women’s events. The IOC said eligibility for events in the women’s category “is now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a single SRY gene test.”
“The evidence-based and expert-informed policy, applicable from the LA28 Olympic Games onwards, protects fairness, safety and integrity in the women’s category,” according to the organization.
“Obviously if you say science, because we talk about science here, if the science is clear, show us who decided and don’t see it as a lie because it is a lie and we know it because we’ve seen it, so if we were to respond or confront Kirsty, that’s how we will respond and we will respond strongly because it affects women,” Semenya said.
THE AMERICAN OLYMPIAN, WHO IDENTIFIES AS NON-BINARY TRANSGENDER, CHRISTIAN THE NEW IOC POLICY TO PROTECT WOMEN’S SPORTS
Caster Semenya (RSA) wins the women’s 800 meters in an African record time of 1:54.25 during the Paris Meeting in an IAAF Diamond League competition at Stade Charlety on June 30, 2018. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
Semenya won Olympic gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Games, but is banned from competing in certain international competitions such as the Olympics and world championships because she refused to follow the rules and take medication to reduce her hormone levels.
“For me personally, I will say that the voice is not heard because you take it as a checkbox, you tick a box so you can clarify or say yes, we have consulted,” he said. “To me, it’s you who checks the box.”
The IOC said it made the decision to implement the policy after consulting with a panel of experts, with the aim of providing equal opportunities to women in sport.
“The policy was developed on the basis that it is universally accepted that it is necessary to establish a women’s category to allow men and women equal access to elite sport,” the IOC said in an announcement.
“It was guided by the IOC’s modern goals related to equality (equal opportunities for female athletes in finals, podiums and championships); enhancing Olympic value (with both women’s and men’s finals in all sports); and visibility and inspiration (celebrating female athletes on the Olympic podium to inspire and represent women and girls around the world).”
Coventry suggested in the announcement that continuing to enable men in women’s sports is “not safe.”
Caster Semenya of South Africa competes in the women’s 3000m final during the South African Athletics Grand Prix (ASA) at the Greenpoint Athletics Stadium in Cape Town on March 23, 2022. (RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images)
“As a former athlete, I believe passionately in the right of all Olympic athletes to participate in fair competition. The policy we have announced is based on science and has been led by medical experts. In the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can make the difference between victory and defeat,” he said.
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“Therefore, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the women’s category. Furthermore, in some sports it simply would not be safe.”
