Caster Semenya has found a way to get around the now famous 'testosterone controversy' by agreeing to run a 3 000m race at the Prefontaine Classic at Stanford University in the United States on June 30.
On May 1, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the IAAF, track and field's governing body, may maintain its restrictions on athletes such as Semenya, who is believed to have an intersex condition that causes her body to naturally produce testosterone at levels much higher than most women.
The rule introduced by the IAAF compels female runners in certain categories to cap their testosterone levels for six months before competing.
The new rule applies to distances from 400m to a mile and includes the heptathlon, which concludes with an 800m race.
But Semenya, who has raced the 3 000m distance twice in minor meetings in South Africa, will face a powerful field on June 30 in the USA that has world-class athletes with seven women having broken 8:30.
Semenya will have to contend with World Cross Country champion Hellen Obiri, World Indoor silver medallist Sifan Hassan and three-time World Indoor champion Genzebe Dibaba.
Semenya has had success at 1 500m, earning a bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships, a gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and a win at last year’s Doha Diamond League.
But attempting to run double that distance will be a different proposition altogether, - African News Agency (ANA)
