“The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Panel found that the DSD Regulations are discriminatory, but the majority of the Panel found that such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF’s aim of preserving the integrity of female athletics in the Restricted Events.”
I’ve spent the last 48 hours trying to understand how three or so arbitrators thought the above ruling made sense. Regardless of how one interprets the statement, what they are doing is wrong. The worst part about this is CAS know it’s wrong, openly admitted the reasons why it’s wrong (e.g. health complications) but used funny English to endorse discrimination. Cool.
If you haven’t already, as a pre-requisite, please read my previous blog post where I raised concerns about the health risks associated with the medical intervention being imposed upon Caster Semenya by the IAAF. This post is different. Amongst other things, I want to talk about the lazy science that has allowed IAAF to get away with targeting her.
Basis Of The Decision
In order to pass this new regulation, IAAF needed to prove that Caster Semenya has an unfair advantage over other Women brought on solely by the increased level of testosterone circulating her body. I’d like to draw your attention to the three studies IAAF used to support their claim because I want you to see why they are mad.
Study A – Over the course of 24 weeks, 62 women were injected with testosterone to determine what dosage level impacted their lean body mass and muscle performance. It was found that increased levels of testosterone did in fact lead to significant increases in their muscle size and muscle strength. However, the 62 women tested in the sample had an average age of 53, were in their menopause and have had their wombs surgically removed (hysterectomy).
Caster Semenya is 28. She has not had a hysterectomy. She is not menopausal.
Study B – Athletes competing in the 2011 and 2013 IAAF World Championships were tested to determine the impact testosterone had on elite male and female athletes. 2,127 observations were included in the sample and it was found that Women with higher levels of testosterone performed significantly better in the 400m, 400m Hurdles, 800m, Pole Vault & Hammer Throw. The issue here is, it was found that 30% of the athletes competing in the 2011 World Champs doped. The sample used in the study included dopers who had been disqualified but no distinction was made between the dopers and the athletes with naturally high testosterone levels. Does that even make sense?
Study C – This study is about them injecting testosterone into mice. I’m not summarising it because Caster Semenya is not a mouse.
The scientific manipulation here is borderline criminal, sorry. None of the samples represent Semenya in any capacity but they’ve joined them all together to create an umbrella to which Semenya conveniently falls under. This is lazy. There are a multitude of factors contributing towards Caster Semenya’s stellar performances and even if testosterone is a factor, it certainly does not trump the years of hard work and dedication she has put into becoming the athlete she is today.
Berlin
Caster Semenya is obviously an incredible athlete, the times she clocks tell us that. But the way everyone talks about her testosterone levels, you’d think she has been dismantling the World Record for the past 10 years. She hasn’t. The controversial race at the Berlin World Championships in 2009, though impressive, was 2 seconds shy of the WR and placed Semenya 12th on the all-time list. IAAF swear on God she was flagged because of how “dominant” she was in that race so I’m going to take a moment & dissect it.
Pictured above is the margin of victory from the race. At the time, we were so used to tight finishes in the 800m that the gap Semenya created had everyone shooketh. But guys, Caster was literally racing bums. Like, jokes aside, the mediocrity is alarming. For context, here are their all-time world rankings:
Caster Semenya – 12th
Janeth Jepkosgei – 29th
Jenny Meadows – 138th
Yuliya Krevsun – 89th
Mariya Savinova – 107th [because her drug-infested times were made void]
Elisa Cusma – 214th
Mayte Martinez – 109th
Marilyn Okoro – 190th
Does this not explain the margin of victory? It’s kind of like putting Roger Federer on the court against Andy Roddick and expecting him not to rack up 20 grand slam wins. I mean………..
I also want to point out that in the year prior, 18-year-old Pamela Jelimo ran 1-second off the WR to take Gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, producing a similar margin of victory, but her gender was never questioned. Why? What’s the difference between the two Women? Why’s everyone pretending like the initial speculation surrounding Semenya wasn’t due to the way her body’s built?
Villain Or Victim?
They’ve been trying to get Caster all the way out of here ever since but her expansion into the 1,500m has got the Brits being more vocal than I’ve ever seen them on any matter. It’s not really rocket science to figure out why though. Laura Muir. Our 1,500m hopeful. Talented young girl, bless her. I have no doubt she’ll be a star in the next few years, but the Brits feel like she was robbed of a Bronze Medal at the London World Championships in 2017 because she came in 4th behind Caster Semenya. That’s why you have the likes of Paula Jane Radcliffe calling Semenya a “danger” to Women’s sport and a “threat” to female athletes, to ensure the public view Semenya as the enemy. Sound familiar? Is this not how the BBC kick-started the hate-campaign against Justin Gatlin? Right.
Even Kelly Holmes chimed in and I was thinking “Sis???”.. Like, you trained with Maria Mutola and witnessed first-hand the abuse she was subjected to. Mutola’s muscular build had everyone referring to her as a “Man” because how else would they explain this Black Woman from Mozambique destroying a field of mediocre, white middle-distance runners? The day I knew everyone was mad was when Marilyn Okoro picked up her phone, opened the Twitter app and used the fingers God gave her to type how Caster Semenya is impacting their livelihood. “Their”, as in, including her. Somebody that is carrying last upandan. Even if they remove Semenya, what is the difference in prize money between 7th and 8th place please?
All these things play a part in how Semenya is painted. No one feels sorry for her because why should they? To them, she’s robbing a living. But I just want to reiterate that Caster Semenya has done nothing wrong. She chose a career path, worked hard & excelled in it. But the Women in her profession fail to recognise what she is fighting for and instead made the conscious choice to publicly humiliate her.
What Happens Now?
The next steps for Caster Semenya aren’t promising at all, and that’s what makes this so sad. She has 30 days to appeal this decision at the Swiss Federal Tribunal, however, they rarely overturn CAS rulings. This means we’ll be back to square one in a few months with Semenya having to decide whether to take the drugs to suppress her testosterone or cease from having a career at all. What kind of ultimatum is that please? Athletics is her main sole source of income. This is how she provides for her family, so essentially, IAAF have ruined her life. And I say this because her legal team advised she has no intentions of ever changing who she is.
One can only imagine the stress and hurt this ordeal has brought to Semenya but I admire her strength & determination in fighting this for 10 years. Excelling while Black seems to be a huge crime & it’s draining. I have no idea what Semenya will do next, or how much more abuse she can take, but whatever she decides, I support.
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