Caster puts on a show of defiance
INA city where everything is new came one final, wonderful look at the old.
If this does prove to be Caster Semenya’s last blast, the last time we see the South African in her guise as an all- conquering 800metres runner, then what a magnificent way to exit the stage.
Consider the mic dropped. Her time in Doha was 1min 54.98sec, the second best of her life, the eighth best of any runner to take on the distance on an outdoor track, almost three seconds quicker than the next quickest in the field.
When she was done, she stood there, largely emotionless, the winner of a 30th straight race at this leg- shredding distance, a streak
that goes back to September 2015. That will now surely end. From Wednesday she will need to take medication to lower her testosterone if she is to run at the highest level and those pills will not pass her lips.
When asked by Sportsmail, would she take the medication, she was rapid, saying: ‘Hell no.’
And yet there was no retirement, only defiance. The hope she clings to is that she can win an appeal against the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling, which on Wednesday fell in favour of the IAAF and their controversial regulations.
‘How the hell am I going to retire when I’m 28? I still feel young, energetic,’ she said. ‘I still have 10 years or more in athletics. It doesn’t matter how I’m going to do it, what matters is I’ll still be here.’
When pushed to clarify if she would still be competing in the 800m she said ‘of course’ and added: ‘With this situation, you can never tell the future.’
But it feels like the ending of an era, just as Semenya herself has hinted with various tweets since the verdict. If the Swiss courts do not overturn the ruling, then a double champion of the Olympics will slip away from the sport. A martyr for many, a figurehead, a wronged woman. But there will also be some who see the other view, which is also entirely reasonable.
Indeed, it has been the kind of debate where you achingly understand both points of view and this was the kind of race that laid it out in full detail.
The 2016 Olympic silver medallist, Francine Niyonsaba, who said recently that she has raised testosterone levels, finished second here. Also on the line was Margaret Wambui, who took bronze in Rio behind Semenya and Niyonsaba. There have reports about her testosterone levels as well.
Spare a thought in this for Britain’s Lynsey Sharp, who finished ninth here. She has been vilified since speaking out about the apparent battle of unequals in 2016. Here she was emotional, recalling how she has had ‘death threats, to me and my family’ before adding: ‘I can never go to South Africa now.’
It has been hard for her on a personal and professional level. It is women like that who the IAAF have sought to protect, but it is messy, complicated, difficult.
What is clear is that Semenya is a remarkable runner. One of the greats. And maybe now, at 28, she will never be seen racing again, irrespective of what she says. There is a tragedy in that, regardless of what side of the debate you take.
Meanwhile, Dina Asher-Smith ran an impressive 22.26sec in the 200m, winning at a canter. It was among the performances of the night — but the limelight was always going to be elsewhere.