Dylan Bettencourt
Caster Semenya, who has faced constant scrutiny over her sex throughout her career, revealed that she once offered to show track officials her vagina when she was 18 years old to prove that she was a woman.
Semenya burst onto the running scene winning the 800m title at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin which was her first major athletics meet.
In an interview with HBO Real Sports Semenya said the track officials in Berlin probably thought she had a penis.
“I told them, ‘It’s fine. I’m a female, I don’t care. If you want to see I’m a woman, I will show you my vagina, alright?’” Semenya said.
The South African double Olympic champion has been forced to take medication by the world athletics body to reduce her testosterone levels in order to compete.
She said the medication “tortured” her and made her fear that she would have a heart attack.
Although the specific medication she has to take has never been disclosed it is said that she takes birth control pills or something similar which lowers testosterone.
“It made me sick. It made me gain weight. I had panic attacks. I didn’t know if I was ever going to have a heart attack,” Semenya said.
“It’s like stabbing yourself with a knife every day. But I had no choice.”
Forcing athletes to take medication to alter natural body processes has been heavily criticised by medical experts who have deemed it unethical.
World Athletics lawyer Jonathan Taylor defended the medication put to Semenya, claiming leading experts would prescribe it to female athletes with high testosterone, according to the Telegraph.
“Jonathan must cut out his tongue and throw it away. If he wants to understand how that thing has tortured me, he must go and take that medication. Then he will understand,” Semenya said.
The champion, now 31, has since been banned from the 400m unless she reduces her testosterone levels. She also hasn’t run an 800m race since 2019.
Image source: @WIRED
