Caster Semenya releases memoir: The Race To Be Myself

By: Natasha Archary

Caster Semenya has released her memoir: The Race To Be Myself, hoping her story can contribute to a more tolerant world.

The national hero who was put under a global microscope and discriminated for having higher than usual testosterone levels, shares how she never allowed negative publicity to deter her.

Semenya, a two-time women’s 800m Olympic champion, a three-time 800m world champion and a double Commonwealth Games middle distance gold medalist, shares that while she faced discrimination from the outside, her family showed her nothing but love, despite her being “different.”

The 32-year old Olympic runner won her appeal against testosterone rules at the European Court of Human Rights in July.

In her memoir, Caster addresses the discrimination she faced for the first time, revealing the sex detemining tests she was subjected to because her “male-like” features raised eyebrows after she won her first 800m gold medal at the age of 18.

The adversity she faced after racing officials questioned her gender, propelled her to find self-love and race at her best.

“You have the power in you to own yourself.

The scientific community has labelled my biological makeup as intersex. The truth is, I don’t think of myself that way, I am a woman.”

Caster Semenya

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Caster Semenya (@castersemenya800m)

Caster reveals that she was dealing with a lot of emotions over the scrutiny she was subjected to from the moment she entered the world stage at 18-years old.

Born with female genitalia, Caster shares that even as a child she was ridiculed and teased, and called a boy.

She touches on learning who she really is by loving herself as she is, and where the world sees that she’s different, she sees exactly who she was meant to be.

Caster’s memoir: The Race To Be Myself, is now available on international book shelves, and also comes as an audiobook.

Also read: Moja Love parts ways with Xolani Khumalo