The transgender issues have been making waves all over the world, and not even the track and field community is immune to it. There have been a number of cases where athletes go through the problem of gender bias, and their performance is judged on the same as well. South African track star Caster Semenya has also seen similar issues in her journey. To portray her journey, she has opened up about herself and everything about her journey in her book called, ‘The Race to be Myself’.

Caster Semenya is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals. She attained accomplishments in her sports journey. However, it wasn’t easy. The challenge faced by her wasn’t very smooth and had to stay strong throughout as she had court cases going on with multiple other speculations to accomplish everything she wanted. This book is the outlet that tells the story of the problems she faced due to gender discrimination.

Caster Semenya tells the story of her tough journey

Caster Semenya narrates a tough journey when it comes to her sports career in her book. The first time it started was in 2009 when she was just 18 years old and went to Berlin to participate in a race. There she was asked by the International Association of Athletics Federations to sit for multiple rounds of nonconsensual tests for gender confirmation. This situation came up because of the question raised by the public that she has an unfair advantage in competing in the women’s category as a rumor was in the air about her being male.

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According to the NY Times, after some major tests, it was found out that she has a difference in her sex development which raised speculations all over the world. But this did not affect the track and field star at all, she expressed, “To be honest, I didn’t care then, and I don’t care now what the medical findings are”. Following this, she also expressed, “I was born a girl and raised as a girl. That was and is the end of the argument for me”. She had to undergo court cases when it came to the issues about her hormones while racing.

Even after getting threatened with getting barred from the races, she kept excelling by winning multiple races, she attained the second position in the 800-meter races at both the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics. These medals were upgraded to gold later when the athlete who took the first position was found guilty of doping. Not just her sports career, all of this started in her hometown.

The rise of challenges faced by the track star in her hometown

Semenya came to light when the world channeled all their projections about gender in sports on her. She was born in the South African village of Ga-Masehlong. She stated that she was always aware of how she did not fit the usual mold of her gender. Her preferences were not what were usually seen as traditional. She stated how she preferred wearing pants over a skirt, however, even after all her choices, she still considered herself a woman.

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She expressed, “Growing up, my family and friends just understood I was what the Western world calls a tomboy”. Semenya also spoke about how she faced some problems when she hit puberty. In her memoir, she also added that she never avoided showering with her teammates as well, she expressed, “I had nothing to hide”. Her memoir is what she has made the best to express everything that she went through in her personal and professional life.

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