Why penalise Caster Semenya for her natural talent?
Regarding Caster Semenya possibly being penalised, the Bible tells us that we are not created equally and that we all have different talents. (Matthew 25: 14-26).
We are required to use our talents to the best of our ability and multiply them.
In the case of Semenya it now appears that she will have some of her talents taken away so that other less talented persons can keep up.
One wonders if she had been a high jumper with 2mlong legs and weighed 40kg whether she would have been required to undergo leg reduction surgery and wear a weight belt.
When, during an interview, Comrades Marathon champion Bruce Fordyce was asked to what he attributed his success, he answered, “My mother and father, they gave me the genes to covert oxygen into energy more efficiently and for longer than most other people”.
One wonders if he had still been running competitively whether he would have been required to run with an oxygen restrictor.
Despite all that has been said and done, Semenya has still not broken the world record for the 800m.
Her personal best for the 800m is 1min 55.16sec with the world record of 1:53.12 belonging to the Czech Jarmila Kratochvlova, set in 1983 and one of the longest standing records in the sport.
Is it just coincidence that this record was set during the East European golden era of cheating?
There is a theory that some of the records set during this era will never be broken unless cheating is legalised.
While talent plays a major part in achieving anything in today’s competitive world, training and mental toughness are almost as important.
My advice to you, Caster, is keep going and don’t let them bring you down.
What a proud day it will be the day you bring the world record home to our beloved country.
At least it will be as a result of hard work and a God-given talent, and not as a result of cheating.
Your biggest fan, Dan Papenfus Port Elizabeth