South Africa’s most successful track athlete has been put to good use, with World Athletics putting the final nail in the coffin of her career this week, but Caster Semenya will always be remembered for the brave battles she fought, on and off the track.
A three-time world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 800m, Semenya has achieved more than any other SA track and field athlete – but it’s in the courtroom where she comes up against her strongest opposition.
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When the controversial gender rule was first repealed, then reinstated, she joined the fight at World Athletics. She lost all appeals in court, but Semenya refused to be pushed, insisting that she will not take hormone suppressants and switch to the 5 000m event to sidestep the rules.
World Athletics announced this week, however, that the ban on athletes with “sexual developmental differences” will extend to all track and field disciplines, effectively ending their careers.
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So, we won’t see him walk again after April 1st and already past the age of 32, he probably won’t know how to take another fight to the court.
But Semenya will go down in history as a champion who never backed down from a fight.