Caster Semenya's 800 metres victory in Berlin has created new waves of tension at the World Challenge meet on Sunday, with one opponent claiming that she was 'literally running against a man'.
Semenya breezed past effortlessly to win with several strides to spare in a world-class time of 1min 59.90sec. Given that she has only been training seriously for a month and has, by her own admission, done no speed work whatsoever, it is highly possible that by the time she competes in the Commonwealth Games in October, she could be back to the form of a year ago when she ran away from the field in Berlin to win in a world-leading 1-55.45sec.
However her win has caused friction amongst her fellow athletes with many speaking of their frustration that their own rights have been brushed aside by the decision of the International Association of Athletics Federations to allow the 19 year-old to return so early.
"It's obviously a human rights issue but human rights affect everyone in the race, not just one person," said Britain's Jemma Simpson, who finished fourth in 2min 0.57sec. "The rest of the field just gets ignored. No way is it a personal issue but it's a debate about what is right and fair for everyone. It's a really tough subject and a lot of people are very careful about what they say. You have to be".
According to Canada's Diane Cummins, who was eighth in Sunday's race: "Unfortunately for Caster, she's grown up in an environment that is complicated not just for her but for human science. Basically, is she man, is she lady? What constitutes male, what constitutes female?"
More on this story from The Telegraph.
