Caster Semenya was never alone in her fight against the IAAF. But the recent decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) strengthens the camp of its supporters a little more every day.
The latest to stand alongside him has all the attributes to make himself heard, even beyond the world of athletics. Allyson Felix, 33, the most successful female athlete in history in the two major competitions, World Championships (11 titles) and Olympic Games (6 gold medals), publicly expressed her feelings in the current controversy over hyperandrogenic athletes. She did it without nuance.
« I was disappointed from the start of the case by the way it was handled, explained the Californian during a conversation, for a podcast, with former football player Julie Foudy. For me, all this is not fair. I'm on Caster's side. She is my friend. I don't think anyone should have to go through what she went through. And not just right now, with the ongoing case. This dates back to his competitive debut. The issue is very, very complex... But, from my point of view, it has been poorly managed from the beginning"
Allyson Felix is not openly critical of the IAAF. But the American, racing for her fifth Olympic Games next year in Tokyo, is angry with the international organization for its attitude towards Caster Semenya. “ There should already be something in place in the case of athletes with differences or intersex athletes, she suggested Wednesday May 8. I don't know what, it's definitely a challenge. But we are talking about human beings. I can't believe Caster had to deal with all of this. This has been going on for 10 years now. There must be a better solution. »
The IAAF, for its part, continues to defend itself. The Monaco-based organization published on Tuesday May 7, on its official website, a series of 12 questions and answers on its new regulations relating to differences in sexual development (DSD).
One of them, the most noted, specifies without naming it that its new regulation is in no way directed exclusively to the case of Caster Semenya. “ Some commentators have suggested that the regulations are aimed at a specific athlete. This is not correct. But the IAAF is bound by strict confidentiality and therefore simply cannot – and will not – disclose the number of other athletes affected, nor the identities of these athletes. »
Irony of the story: the athletes in question decide one after the other to break the law of silence. Kenyan Maximila Imali, 23, a 400m specialist (51 sec 18 in 2017), is the latest to publicly declare herself hyperandrogenic.
« Where is the fairness in all this, when other sports disciplines admit hyperandrogenic athletes like us?, she confided to Daily Nation.
According to the Nairobi daily, citing Athletics Kenya, a series of medical tests revealed that two other Kenyan athletes would also be affected by the new IAAF regulations: Margaret Nyairera Wambui, the 800m bronze medalist at the Rio 2016 Games , and Evangeline Makena, a 400m specialist.
