Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya has revealed the physical and emotional turmoil she experienced after having to take birth control pills to compete with other women.
The 32-year-old South African runner, who won Olympic gold in the 800 meters in 2012 and 2016, was officially identified as female at birth but suffers from a condition that causes her body to naturally produce higher levels of testosterone than women without it Disease.
In 2018, rules put in place by World Athletics required Semenya and other athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD) to take hormone-suppressing drugs to compete at distances between 400 meters and a mile – for Semenya, this meant that a child s testosterone suppression control is given birth. pill.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, the award-winning athlete said the pill gave her “panic attacks”, caused her severe stress and made her “vomit every day” while taking the medication – and she stressed she faces poses “no danger” to other athletes.
She also told host Emma Barnett that she doesn’t want the two children she shares with wife Violet Raseboya to take up athletics later in life because of the experiences she’s had – and would instead encourage them to join others in devoting themselves to sports.
Caster Semenya, who had to take the pill to lower her testosterone levels so she could compete with women in track and field competitions, says the medication made her extremely unwell
During her career, her personal medical records became public after she had to undergo a test to prove she was biologically female. The results showed she was born without ovaries or uterus and had internal testicles. Her testosterone levels were three times higher than what was considered “normal” for a woman at the time.
While publishing her memoir, The Race to Be Myself, she reflected on the strict conditions placed on her to participate. They had to take a test to prove she was a woman and later take measures to lower testosterone levels to suppress her body.
Semenya recalls taking the gender recognition test at age 18, just before winning a gold medal at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
“It was a surprise to me when I found out it was a gender test,” she said. “I understood it was a doping test.”
When the doctor told her she was going to undergo a gender test, Semenya felt she had “nothing to hide” and had the test done.
“I know I’m a woman,” she said.
Semenya, who is from South Africa, revealed that she does not want the children she shares with her wife, Violet Raseboya, to take up athletics.
The test revealed that Semenya’s reproductive organs differ from those of most women – something the athlete was previously unaware of. The test results were eventually leaked and published without their permission.
She revealed that she only processed the information “years” later and avoided the news for several years so she could continue to focus on running.
About the leak, Semenya said: “It’s a violation, but I have no control over it.” In the end it’s there and it did me a favor because I had to learn from it, there are people who had to learn from it.
“Now there are people who know that there are women who have different opinions.”
She added: “Women with differences; They are not threats.”
After the results of her test revealed Semenya’s elevated testosterone levels, she agreed with World Athletics (formerly IAAF) to take medication to alter her hormones and lower the testosterone levels in her body.
Semenya described how the hormones affected her: “I took it up out of desperation to run back.”
She added: “It made me sick. I lived under stress. Every day you are not happy, you live in darkness.
“You have pain in your stomach, you have panic attacks, you feel nauseous, you want to throw up every day.”
Semenya described her experience as “hell” and said she ended up “hating herself” and losing her self-esteem.
“You don’t sleep at night and you always think: ‘Why am I doing this?’,” she said.
Despite a debate that followed Semenya throughout her career as she struggled to compete against women, the runner insisted her higher testosterone levels did not give her an edge over her peers.
“There is no unfair advantage,” she said.
Barnett read a statement from World Athletics that discussed “more than a decade of research” in athletes with differences in sexual development that found that higher testosterone levels “represent an unfair advantage in the female category.”
When Semenya discussed the debate about transgender women competing in the female sports categories, Semenya refused to comment, arguing that she was not transgender and therefore could not be included in the issue.
The statement added that World Athletics’ guidelines are “necessary, appropriate and proportionate” to protect women’s sport.
Elsewhere in the interview, Semenya spoke about her life since she stopped competing, adding that she still runs every day, but mostly works with young children as a coach – and hopes that the “nonsense” about it will stops, has no impact on others. young children will happen. Athlete.
She also spoke about the two children she shares with her wife, athlete Violet Raseboya, adding that she does not want them to follow their mother’s path.
“They won’t do athletics,” she said, but suggested trying tennis, golf or swimming.
“I have to disabuse them of this nonsense that women are treated like animals,” she said.
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Elizabeth Cabrera is an author and journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest news and trends, Elizabeth is dedicated to delivering informative and engaging articles that keep readers informed on the latest developments.
