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<\/div>\nTwo-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya says she is \u201cnot going to be ashamed\u201d of being \u201cdifferent\u201d, and will \u201cfight for what is right\u201d amid her ongoing dispute with athletics authorities.<\/p>\n
Semenya, 32, was born with differences of sexual development (DSD) which mean she has an elevated level of testosterone \u2013 a hormone that increases muscle mass and strength.<\/p>\n
The South African cannot compete in female track events without taking testosterone-reducing drugs.<\/p>\n
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Semenya said recently she was turning her attention to \u201cwinning battles against the authorities\u201d rather than collecting medals, with competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics no longer a goal.<\/p>\n
She said it was about \u201cfighting for the upcoming generation because there are a lot of kids affected by the same ruling\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Breakfast\u2019s Sally Nugent, Semenya says:<\/p>\n
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- She felt she was \u201cdifferent\u201d from the age of five but \u201cembraces\u201d her differences<\/li>\n
- She will not conform \u201cto be accepted\u201d<\/li>\n
- She wants to empower women to \u201chave a voice\u201d<\/li>\n
- \u201cLeaders\u201d in sport are \u201cturning women against women\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u2018I will embrace my differences\u2019<\/h3>\n
Under regulations\u00a0introduced in 2018,\u00a0athletes with DSD were only allowed to compete in female track events between 400m and the mile if they reduced their testosterone levels.<\/p>\n
In March, World Athletics ruled that DSD athletes must now have hormone-suppressing treatment for six months before being eligible to compete in all female events.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me I believe if you are a woman, you are a woman,\u201d said Semenya, who won Olympic 800m gold in 2012 and 2016 and is a three-time world champion over the same distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter the differences you have. I have realised I want to live my life and fight for what I think and I believe in myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I am a woman and anything that comes along with it just accept it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Semenya ran in the 5,000m at last year\u2019s World Championships in Oregon but failed to qualify for the final.<\/p>\n
In July, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in her favour in a case related to testosterone levels in female athletes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, I know I am different. I don\u2019t care about the medical terms or what they tell me. Being born without a uterus or with internal testicles. Those don\u2019t make me less of a woman,\u201d added Semenya.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are the differences I was born with and I will embrace them. I am not going to be ashamed because I am different. I am different and special and I feel great about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes with why we fight for women\u2019s sport. The importance of women\u2019s sport is not being taken seriously and we need to take charge of our own bodies. Decide what is right for us. Not another gender deciding what we should look like.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we are woman enough or not, it is up to us. We know and believe in what is right, then why must we stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
The case at the ECHR was not against sporting bodies or DSD rules \u2013 but specifically against the government of Switzerland for not protecting Semenya\u2019s rights and dates back to a Swiss Supreme Court ruling three years ago.<\/p>\n
The ECHR found the Swiss government did not protect Semenya from being discriminated against when its Supreme Court refused to overturn a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), which upheld the World Athletics rules.<\/p>\n
The case has now been referred to the Grand Chamber of the ECHR for a final ruling following a referral request from the Swiss government.<\/p>\n
\u2018I am not going to be somebody I am not\u2019<\/h3>\n
![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/_131640614_gettyimages.jpg\")
From left, the Rio 2016 Olympics Women\u2019s 800m silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi, gold medallist Caster Semenya of South Africa, and bronze medallist Margaret Nyairera Wambui from Kenya were all born with differences of sexual development (DSD).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Semenya has argued that taking testosterone-reducing medication could endanger her health and that the ruling denied her and other athletes with DSD the right to rely on their natural abilities.<\/p>\n
She told BBC Breakfast that she knew she was \u201cdifferent\u201d from the age of five but, in her autobiography The Race To Be Myself, revealed she found out she \u201cdid not have a uterus or fallopian tubes\u201d at the same time as \u201cthe rest of the world\u201d after a gender test in 2009.<\/p>\n
She says she has \u201cnothing to hide\u201d, adding: \u201cI am a woman and have a vagina just like any other woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am living a different life and I will continue living that, as that is what makes me feel good. I am not going to be somebody I am not, as I have to fit in to be accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week,\u00a0Semenya said\u00a0she had achieved all she ever wanted on the track, and now wants to \u201cpave the way and make sure each and every young girl is treated well\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy future is to fight injustice, fight for inclusivity and diversity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, I\u2019m not going to allow leaders who come for the selfish means into our business to destroy it. I\u2019m about empowering women and making sure they have a voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment, I don\u2019t see a lot of women voicing out if they have problems or something to say. Each and every woman out there should fight for their own. I\u2019ll always fight for what is right, I know what is right, I know how things are supposed to be done. Let\u2019s wake up as women and fight for what is right.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201c[Sporting leaders] are turning women against women. If you say you\u2019re acting in the best interests of athletes, then do that. It\u2019s not up to you to decide what gender should look like, what sex should look like. Govern, make money, promote sport. Very clear message and very loud \u2013 do the job, promote the sport and let us sports people entertain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, World Athletics said in a statement to Reuters: \u201cWorld Athletics has only ever been interested in protecting the female category. If we don\u2019t, then women and young girls will not choose sport. That is, and has always been, the federation\u2019s sole motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson told the BBC: \u201cWorld Athletics has 15 years of data, observations and information directly from DSD athletes in our own sport that show high testosterone levels do provide an unfair advantage in the female category \u2013 and that our guidelines on testosterone thresholds are necessary, reasonable, and proportionate in our aim to protect the integrity of the female category.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Semenya also spoke to\u00a0BBC Woman\u2019s Hour\u00a0and was asked about having an unfair advantage over women not born with DSD, with the 2016 Rio Olympics women\u2019s 800m final referenced.<\/p>\n
In that race, the three medallists \u2013 Semenya, Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi and Kenya\u2019s Margaret Nyairera Wambui \u2013 were all born with DSD. None were eligible for the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.<\/p>\n
Semenya responded that she felt there was \u201cnever any unfair advantage\u201d and that \u201csports have never been fair because of genetics\u201d.<\/p>\n
Semenya was questioned further on the World Athletics statement and research on high testosterone levels giving \u201cbiological advantages\u201d such as \u201cgreater lean body mass, larger hearts and higher cardiac output\u201d. Semenya replied: \u201cWhat they\u2019re saying is nonsense. Lean body mass comes though training. All the hard work comes from altitude. We\u2019re not doing anything extraordinary that a women cannot do on the track.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cThere\u2019s nothing that I feel in my body that\u2019s different, that makes me feel like I\u2019m a man. All women train to perform. If it gives me advantage, why am I not running any times close to men?\u201d<\/p>\n
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