When I pee, I pee like a woman -Semenya - Capital Sports
Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Features

When I pee, I pee like a woman -Semenya

Semenya, 26, has had her gender questioned in the past and outlined her frustrations over it.Photo/DAILY MAIL

LONDON, United Kingdom, Aug 1 – Caster Semenya is making a bold bid for double gold in the women’s 800m and 1500m but her only guarantee at the World Athletics Championships in London is further scrutiny of the gender controversy that has dogged her career.

The powerful, 26-year-old South African is runaway favourite for the 800m, where she seeks a third world title to add to Olympic gold from Rio de Janeiro last year, and is taking on the 1500m for the first time at a major international meeting.

All of this, though, will come under a cloud of controversy at the August 4-13 championships as many feel high testosterone levels give her an unfair advantage.

Anticipating a storm, Semenya this month granted a rare interview to South Africa’s SuperSport TV channel, expressing her frustration at continually having her gender questioned.

“I don’t understand when you say I have an advantage because I am a woman,” she said. “When I pee, I pee like a woman. I don’t understand when you say I’m a man or I have a deep voice. I know I am a female so there’s no question for me.

“I have to find a way to deflect (the questioning of her gender), so instead of allowing it to all be negative, I turn it into a positive. My family’s support system is fantastic.”

Caster Semenya cruises to win the women’s 800m

After Semenya won the 2009 world title as a 19-year-old, tests reportedly revealed that she was hyperandrogenous, resulting in her body producing an abnormally high amount of testosterone, which makes her more powerful than her rivals.

READ: ‘When I pee, I pee like a woman’: Semenya hits out at gender scrutiny ahead of London World Championships

IAAF rule limiting the amount of naturally occurring functional testosterone for female athletes appeared to have narrowed Semenya’s prospects but the IAAF’s Hyperandrogenism Regulations were suspended for two years in 2015 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, allowing Semenya to make a comeback.

Her time of 1:55.27 in the Diamond League meeting in Monaco this month was the fastest in a women’s 800m for almost a decade and there will be an expectation that she could take down the longest-standing athletics world record set by Czech Jarmila Kratochvilova in 1983.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Semenya has made a late decision to add a title at 1500m glory to her London programme, setting up an intriguing clash with world-record holder Genzebe Dibaba from Ethiopia.

Semenya has run the distance only once this year, winning the South African student championship in April, but she is the reigning African champion from Durban last year where she set a personal best of 4:01.19.

-By Daily Mail-

Advertisement

More on Capital Sports

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 27 – DStv and GOtv subscribers are in for a treat of the world’s best football this week as the 2020-21...

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25 – There is light at the end of the tunnel. After failed promises over the last three years since its...

Football

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 6 – Gentrix Shikangwa scored with two minutes left as Vihiga Queens sailed to the final of the CECAFA regional qualifiers...

NFL

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 13 – Kenya’s history making Daniel Adongo, the first Kenyan to play in America’s National Football League (NFL), is now living...

© 2024 Capital Digital Media. Capital Group Limited. All Rights Reserved