Caster Semenya: The full journey

Born in Ga-Masehlong near Polokwane, Caster Semenya emerged from humble beginnings to become one of the most recognisable faces in South African sport.

As a child she developed an early passion for football and later took up running as a teenager to improve her fitness, which would become a life changing decision.

Once her talent was spotted as a middle-distance runner, she was soon elevated into a sphere which offered both rapturous fame and unenviable infamy.

Semenya has come a long way over the last decade. We take a look back on her rollercoaster career thus far.

July 2008

After being selected for the national team for her first global championship, Semenya struggles to put up a fight at the World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz and she is eliminated in the first-round 800m heats.

Still only 17, however, she gains valuable international experience.

October 2008

Coasting to victory in the girls’ 800m final at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, Semenya clocks 2:04.23, and though her performance is hardly spectacular, she sets a Games record.

Scottish athlete Lynsey Sharp, who will become one of Semenya’s most outspoken and critical rivals, settles for third place.

July 2009

Lining up in relative obscurity at the African Junior Championships in Mauritius, 18-year-old Semenya storms across the finish line in 1:56.72 to win 800m gold.

She rips more than four seconds off Zola Budd’s 25-year-old national junior record and shatters the SA senior record of 1:58.85 held by Zelda Pretorius.

Her performance turns heads around the world, and it is the last time Semenya will step on the track without her presence being followed by both whispers and roars.

August 2009

With questions being raised around her powerful physique and relatively deep voice, Athletics South Africa (ASA) is informed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that Semenya must undergo a gender verification test, and the national federation proceeds to turn a difficult situation into an absolute mess.

After she is taken for medical tests without her prior knowledge, SA team doctor Harold Adams tells team management she should be withdrawn from the World Championships in Berlin for her own protection, due to a potentially imminent media explosion. But administrators and politicians opt to throw her under the bus in search of a historic medal.

She wins gold and sets a national record (1:55.45) under a dark cloud of controversy, and she is left virtually alone to handle the subsequent circus.

October 2009

Semenya is sidelined from the track for the first time, and though the IAAF insists she is not technically banned, she is coerced into not competing due to high androgen levels caused by a medical condition (hyperandrogenism).

Apparently opting to take medication to lower her testosterone in order to meet IAAF requirements, rather than undergoing surgery, Semenya is conspicuously absent from the sport for 11 months.

July 2010

Her body eventually meets the maximum testosterone levels allowed by IAAF rules and Semenya is given the green light to return to the track, but she is constantly monitored to ensure she stays within the regulations.

Though her first race produces nothing special, she picks up a win, making her comeback with a 2:04.22 victory at a low-key meeting in Finland.

August 2010

In her third race after making her return to the sport, Semenya clocks 1:59.90 in Berlin, dipping under two minutes for the third time in her career and qualifying for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

September 2010

Forced to make a crushing decision after showing rapid early progress in an impressive comeback, Semenya withdraws from the national team for the Commonwealth Games, calling quits on her season due to a back injury.

September 2011

In defence of her global title, Semenya takes second place behind Russian athlete Mariya Savinova in the 800m final at the World Championships in Daegu.

She is later promoted to first place, however, with all three Russian athletes in the line-up receiving doping bans.

October 2011

With Semenya having stepped up to senior level, approaching her 21st birthday, she opts to cut ties with coach Michael Seme, leaving his training group in Pretoria.

After spending four years with Seme, who had guided her through her early development as an elite athlete, she decides to spread her wings and embark on what will become a lengthy journey of discovery, involving three other coaches and two important moves between provinces.

Her first step is unveiling Mozambican middle-distance icon Maria Mutola as her new mentor.

August 2012

Holding back for most of the race, Semenya is criticised for not launching a kick around the top bend in the Olympic final in London.

Though she storms down the home straight to grab second spot, she again settles for the runner-up position, more than a full second behind Savinova.

But the sanctions against the Russian athlete – enforced some years later as the result of an explosive doping scandal – also see Savinova losing her Olympic crown and Semenya receives another global gold medal.

July 2015

After struggling to find her best form, with injuries taking their toll alongside changes of environment and coaches, Semenya is cleared to compete internationally without being forced to take hormone suppressants after Indian athlete Dutee Chand wins a court case against international gender rules.

Bouncing back to form following a move to Potchefstroom, Semenya’s progress over the next few years under coach Jean Verster is so rapid it will later be used by some as apparent evidence that she holds an unfair advantage due to high levels of natural testosterone.

September 2015

Semenya offers a glimpse of her best at a major international championship for the first time in three years, taking a confidence boosting victory in the 800m final at the African Games in Brazzaville as she outclasses a second-tier field at the continental showpiece.

December 2015

Providing some additional stability in her personal life, adding to her renewed spark on the track, Semenya marries long-time partner Violet Raseboya – a former elite distance runner herself – in a traditional ceremony in Limpopo.

April 2016

Displaying superb form on the domestic circuit, Semenya charges to an unprecedented four titles in the space of a few hours at the SA Senior Championships in Stellenbosch.

She secures the 400m, 800m and 1 500m gold medals before joining the Athletics Central North West team as they storm to victory in the women’s 4x400m relay final.

June 2016

Again flaunting her strength and versatility, Semenya coasts to a convincing victory in the 1 500m final at the African Championships in Durban, and two days later she wraps up the 800m title as well.

Closing out a superb effort, she also joins Justine Palframan, Wenda Nel and Jeanelle Griesel in setting a national 4x400m relay record (3:28.49) to win gold in the four-lap team event.

August 2016

Rewarded for her decision to focus on the 800m event, after qualifying for the 1 500m as well, Semenya breaks her own South African two-lap record (1:55.28) to retain her Olympic title in Rio.

Flanked by silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi and bronze medallist Margaret Wambui of Kenya at the post-race press conference, Semenya speaks out after questions are raised by media, with all three athletes reportedly born with the same controversial condition (hyperandrogenism).

She essentially tells journalists to mind their own business, and that will remain her stance for some time as she repeats the sentiment in press conferences over the next couple of years.

September 2017

Expanding her programme at a major global championship for the first time, Semenya opens her campaign at the World Championships in London by grabbing bronze in the 1 500m final. Six days later her trademark kick is enough to catapult her to victory in the 800m final, as she earns her third world title in her favoured two-lap event.

February 2018

Following a successful three-year period under the guidance of Verster, it is revealed that Semenya is returning to Pretoria.

She takes assistant coach Samuel Sepeng with her, and he plays a key role in motivating her to continue shining at the highest level.

April 2018

Having spent nearly a decade dodging questions on the subject, Semenya’s entire approach changes and the battle she starts to wage against international gender rules seems to ignite a newfound fire in her elite career.

Repeatedly accused of holding back on the track in order to avoid media scrutiny, she eliminates all sense of doubt at the Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast.

In the 1 500m final she clocks 4:00.71 to win gold, opening up down the home straight to clip 0.10 off Zola Budd’s 34-year-old national record. Three days later she cruises to a commanding 800m victory and a memorable double.

August 2018

Overcoming challenging conditions in Asaba, Semenya proves she is as capable as a sprinter as she is a metric miler, storming to an impressive win in 49.96 in the 400m final at the African Championships.

Though her time is not considered for a South African record as the poorly laid track is not certified, she becomes the first SA woman to dip under 50 seconds over the one-lap distance, albeit unofficially.

Two days later she adds 800m gold to her growing collection of titles.

September 2018

Turning out for the African team at the Continental Cup in Ostrava, Semenya storms around the track in 49.62 seconds, and though she settles for the silver medal behind Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain, she smashes the 18-year-old South African 400m record of 50.05 held by Heide Seyerling.

The following day she rockets to victory in the 800m race, finishing more than two seconds clear of her nearest opponent.

Semenya also takes home a silver medal from the mixed 4x400m relay, securing her maiden podium treble at a major global championship.

May 2019

Semenya loses a battle against new IAAF rules which limit athletes’ natural testosterone levels in certain track and field events, including the entire range of events in which she competes, with a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) panel making a split decision in favour of the global body.

The IAAF claims hyperandrogenic athletes hold an unfair advantage over other women, and though Semenya faces another setback, she’s not done fighting.

June 2019

Semenya appeals the CAS decision at the Swiss Supreme Court, and the IAAF rules which threaten to sideline her from the sport are once again put on ice.

She argues that the IAAF regulations are in violation of her basic human rights.

July 2019

Reversing its decision, the Swiss court opts to provisionally suspend Semenya until its decision is heard.

She continues to train, but the middle-distance star is conspicuous in her absence once again as she misses out on the World Championships in Doha.

September 2019

Temporarily banned from the track, Semenya returns to her first love by signing for JVW Football Club.

Preparing to turn out in the domestic women’s league, she seems determined to stay both fit and competitive while she waits indefinitely for a decision on her potential return.

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