At the South African National Championships, Caster Semenya became the first human to win all 1,500m, 800m, and 400m titles.Caster Semenya won 800m and 1,500m at the 2009 African Junior Championships.Mokgadi Caster Semenya, commonly known as Caster Semenya (OIB), is a middle-distance South African runner. In the women’s 800m, she won gold at three World Championships and two Olympics. In 2009, at the world championships, she first won a gold medal and then at the Olympics of 2016, later at the World Championships, 2017. She was also able to win bronze in the 1500m category at the World Championships of 2017. She was awarded a gold medal for the Olympics of 2012 and World Championships, 2011, as Marya Savinova was disqualified. Semenya was born on January 7, 1991, in South Africa. She has a brother and a sister.Caster Semenya FactsCaster Semenya studied at Nthema Secondary School and took up sports science at the University of North West. She has mostly won gold medals with one bronze and two silver medals.The New Statesman, a British magazine included Caster Semenya in their annual list of ‘50 People That Matter’ in 2010 for becoming an inspiration to the world’s gender campaigns.At the SA sports award, she was awarded ‘South African Sportswoman of the year’ in 2012 at Sun City.As part of the Freedom Day Festival, on April 27, 2014, she was awarded the bronze Order of Ikhamanga.In December 2015, Semenya got married to Violet Raseboya, her long-term partner.IAAF declared in October 2016 that Semenya was shortlisted for the World Athlete of the Year in the women’s category.She was listed on the ‘100 Most Influential People in 2019’ in Time Magazine.Semenya joined the football club, SAFA Sasol Women’s League of South Africa in 2019.Semenya declared in 2020 that she made the decision to switch to the 200m race to avoid restrictions in the 400m to a mile category.In the 2019 South African Championship, she won the 5,000m race.Semenya confirmed in 2021 that she would not compete in the 200m Tokyo Olympics.Her timing in the Diamond League meet was the fastest for eight years anywhere in the world.In 2017, she was awarded bronze for 1,500m at London’s World Championships 2017.This Olympic champion could not compete in Doha’s World Athletics Championships, 2019.Around 2013, it was speculated that the medication Semenya was taking was impacting her performance.In the 2015 World Championships, she could not qualify for finals and also finished last in the semi-finals.Caster Semenya’s TimelineSemenya was born in South Africa in a village called Ga-Masehlong, close to Polokwane. She grew up in Fairlie village in northern Limpopo Province in South Africa. She has a brother and three sisters.In July 2009, she won a gold medal at the African Junior Championships.In August of 2009, she unknowingly took a gender test, before Berlin’s world championships.She won the competition in Berlin and later the news about this test leaked.The test showed that Semenya had both the characteristics of a male and female in November 2009.She did not compete for another eight months until July 2010.The IAAF or International Association of Athletics Federations cleared her and she could compete again.In 2012, August, she won a silver medal at the London Olympics, 800m.She was awarded gold later after Maria Savinova’s disqualification. In 2011, gold was also awarded to Semenya.The International Association of Athletics Federations suspended the guidelines on high natural testosterone levels in female runners or hyperandrogenism that was valid since 2011, in 2015.This policy was suspended in the case of Athletics Federation of India vs Dutee Chand (an Indian sprinter). However, due to a lack of evidence, there was no result.In the August of 2016, Semenya went to become an Olympic champion in Rio Olympics after winning gold in 800m.New rules were again introduced by IAAF for female athletes, who have naturally high testosterone competing in the 400m to mile race.In June 2018, Semenya calls these rules unfair and appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS.In May 2019, she loses the challenge to the IAAF and then reached the Swiss Federal Supreme court with her appeal.The Swiss court temporarily suspends the IAAF rules, allowing Semenya to compete.She won the 2,000m race at Paris and then at Prefontaine Classic Diamond League in the 800m race.Eventually, in July 2019 the court reversed the decision.Caster Semenya’s AccomplishmentsWhen Caster Semenya started playing football, she began running for training. She was 18 years old when she won her first gold at the 2009 World Championship.Although Semenya could not qualify at the 800m race in World Junior Championships in 2008, she was able to win gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the same year with a timing of 2:04.23.Her timings at the African Junior Championships, where she won both 1,500m and 800m, was a championship and a national record.She again set the fastest time in the same year with 1:55.45 at the World Championships.The Track and Field News chose Semenya as the ‘Number One Women’s 800m runner’ of 2009.The IAAF cleared Semenya to participate in the International competition on July 6.She won in two minor races conducted in Finland, nine days after coming back to compete.Although she started slow, she finished strongly with a dip of 2:00 on the same track where she became the world champion and won the Internationales Stadionfest in Berlin.She neither entered African Championships nor the World Junior Championships held in July 2010.She then started preparing for the Commonwealth Games in October, 2010.She competed in the Notturna di Milano held in early, September, where she reached her season’s best timing of 1:58.16.Although she started preparing for Commonwealth after returning to South Africa, due to injury she was forced out of the games.She finished second to Mariya Savinova in the 2011 World Championships, however, in 2017, after the ban of Savinova, Semenya was awarded gold.In the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Semenya was selected to carry the South African flag.She took silver and reached her season’s best with the timing of 1:57.23 in the 800m race.After the World Anti-Doping Agency recommended the ban on Savinova along with four Russian athletes, the International Olympic Committee upgraded Semenya’s silver to gold for the 2012, London Olympics.Semenya won 1,500m, 800m, and 400m races at the South African National Championships, on April 16, 2016.She won the 800m at Rio Olympics on August 20, 2016, with timing of 1:55.28.Challenges Faced by Caster SemenyaCaster Semenya is an intersex woman and at birth, she was assigned female with a natural elevation of testosterone levels and XY chromosomes. After she won the championships, many raised questions about her sex.2009-Semenya, an 18-year-old, won the title of 800m race in Berlin, however, just before the race, news leaked about medical tests conducted by IAAF on this teenager.This test was probably conducted to measure Semenya’s testosterone levels and verify her sex.Semenya’s coach, Wilfred Daniels, with the Athletics South Africa, resigned on September 7, 2009, apologizing for having failed to protect Semenya.After this news was leaked, it was announced that Semenya was unfit to compete for a period of 11 months.IAAF never publicly declared the medical details of the test done on Semenya.Later, another news revealed that the track federation of South Africa asked Caster Semenya to take medical examinations.In March 2010, she was suspended apparently due to high levels of testosterone.Semenya, however, turned up at the Stellenbosch’s track meet and demanded them to let her run.The IAAF organizers who were related to her suspension did not let her run. She later released her statement through her lawyers, which was the first time she spoke about her situation to the public.Almost after one year of her win at the World Championships, the IAAF cleared Semenya in a three-sentence statement, which stated that she could compete against other women athletes.IAAF only said that the process regarding Semenya’s case was complete.As per this process, Semenya was asked to take testosterone-suppressing medication that would reduce the levels to normal range in any women athlete.After this process, she kept both her World Championships title and the gold medal.In 2011, Semenya, under medication, won silver behind Mariya Savinova.When she again finished behind Savinova, another controversy began when a commentator stated that Semenya intentionally lost to avoid scrutiny.2013-2015 was the toughest phase on the track for Semenya. She was going through coaching changes and injuries.
At the South African National Championships, Caster Semenya became the first human to win all 1,500m, 800m, and 400m titles.
