What a pickle the athletics world has got itself into over the case of
South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya, who has elevated levels of
testosterone.
After a decade of storming victories in 800 metre races, including the
last Olympics final, the IAAF, the governing body of international athletics,
defined athletes like her as having “a difference of sexual development (DSD)”
and in 2018 introduced regulations forcing such athletes to reduce their
testosterone levels if they wished to compete in certain events.
Unsurprisingly, Semenya challenged this and brought her case to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), international sport’s highest court.
She lost, with the court ruling that such athletes could be banned
unless they took medication to reduce their testosterone levels.
Semenya is hyperandrogenic, meaning she has a much higher level of
testosterone than most women.
Most people accept the case for separate male and female categories in
sporting events in which physical prowess matters. But should women with
naturally elevated levels of testosterone be able to compete in women’s events?
Absolutely they should. Elite sport is an uneven playing field. Always
has been.
The best athletes are not like the rest of us.
Did Carl Lewis have a physical advantage over his contemporaries? Of course
he did.
Did Usain Bolt have a physical advantage? You betcha.
What must not happen is Semenya being forced to take testosterone-reducing
drugs.
How can it be just for one athlete to have to take drugs to reduce her
natural advantage but others, who try to get an edge by taking other drugs, are
banned. It all seems a little confused to me. Or, put simply, bonkers.
