TRIPLE Olympian Tamsyn Lewis is looking forward to racing South African 800-metre runner Caster Semenya, despite joking that the Hawthorn AFL team ought to sign her for the back pocket.
Semenya, the centre of a storm after a gender test last year, finished third in her Diamond League debut in Brussels on Friday night, four seconds slower than her controversial world championship victory. That win was overshadowed by a gender test, the result of which was never officially released. It was said Semenya has a rare medical condition.
smh.com.au: Lewis lines up Semenya
Some opponents have likened racing Semenya to running against a male. Lewis, the former world indoor champion, said the 800m accommodated strongly built athletes. “I was thinking Hawthorn should recruit her for the back pocket because she’s so strong,” Lewis said. “But you know what, there’s been so many 800m runners who have been built like Caster,” she said. “Maria Mutola [of Mozambique] was so good; I raced against her for most of my career and she was a heavily built athlete. And that’s the beauty of the 800m: you can have all athletic builds meet in that one event.”
External links:
- guardian.co.uk – Caster Semenya third in Brussels 800m as gender debate rages on
- guardian.co.uk – Rivals ‘laughed and stared at’ Caster Semenya, says Jenny Meadows
Editorial comment:
OUR standard notes and corrections:
- Intersex is not rare – it is a common biological variation with some underlying variations being more common than others.
- Intersex is not a medical condition.
- One cannot medically test for gender, only sex.
- Gender is whether one is a man or a woman or somewhere in between; sex is whether one is female or male or somewhere in between.
- Gender is the behavioural and social role expression of one’s sex.
It is interesting that Tamsyn Lewis has noted how the 800m running event attracts powerfully-built female athletes.
Even more slightly-built female athletes hardly resemble Barbie dolls.
Athletes complaining about Ms Semenya’s build would do well to look about themselves a little bit more.
