South African runner Caster Semenya dominated the women’s 800-meter final Saturday in Rio, finishing well ahead of the competition to take home the gold medal.
Semenya is widely believed to be “intersex,” defined by the United Nations as people born with sex characteristics “that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies.” The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last summer suspended International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) rules prohibiting athletes who exceed a testosterone threshold from competing in women’s track and field events, clearing the way for Semenya to compete in Rio.
The CAS ruling claimed that high testosterone levels didn’t necessarily give female athletes an advantage. (RELATED: High School Boy Wins All-State Honors In Girls’ Track And Field)
Caster Semenya (#RSA) easily wins the Women’s 800m! #Rio2016pic.twitter.com/EBwBLLzfo7
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 21, 2016
Semenya finished a whole second ahead of the next-closest finisher, setting a personal best with a time of 1:55.28.
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