The unfair disadvantage Caster Semenya must endure to compete for Olympic gold

[KamaAina]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/unfair-disadvantage-caster-semenya-must-000000810.html

It was a Russian runner named Mariya Savinova who said what a lot of people think about Caster Semenya: “Just look at her.”

That was after Savinova lost to the South African in the 800-meter final at the 2009 world championships. The suggestion was as stinging as it was prejudiced: Semenya supposedly had an unfair advantage from elevated levels of natural testosterone, and the so-called proof was her masculine looks.

Well, a lot has happened since then, and it was Savinova who likely had the unfair advantage. The righteous runner was caught for doping, prompting WADA to recommend a lifetime ban. Yet it was Semenya who received so much more scrutiny, despite being cleared to compete by the IAAF in 2010 after undergoing a gender test.

Savinova’s insinuations represent one of many troubling episodes in the career of Semenya, arguably the most ridiculed Olympic athlete of our times. Just recently, Paula Radcliffe, the world record holder in the women’s marathon, said a gold medal for Semenya in Rio would mean “it’s no longer sport and no longer an open race.” Semenya is poised to be one of the major stories of these Games, a serious threat to break the 33-year-old world record in the 800 meters, and many people are set to shelve scientific research in favor of bias and fear.

[elleng]

1. AWFUL

[Cracklin Charlie]

2. Does Semenya have naturally elevated testosterone levels?

I have never heard anyone say that she does...they all seem to be insinuating something that there is no proof of.

I watched her race in Rio, and I will say that her facial features may seem masculine under the lights of the track with no makeup, game face on, and her hair done close to her head...a lot of female athletes look that way. But, when she races, she runs like a woman. Her center of gravity is low, and she just runs like a strong, athletic woman. She churned her way around that track with a powerful, efficient gate. I think she's great.

Maybe Savinova needs to up her game, instead of trying to tear down Semenya.