Black Women Shut Out of the Olympics

When the competition gets real, white supremacists changes the rules. Caster Semenya of South Africa, Christine Mboma of Namibia, Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi, and Margaret Wambui of Kenya were all barred from participating in their signature races at the Olympic games in Japan.

In 2018, world track and field’s governing body introduced rules it said were aimed at female athletes with conditions called differences of sex development, or DSDs. The key for World Athletics is that these athletes have testosterone levels that are higher than the typical female range. The track body argues that gives them an unfair advantage. Semenya is the highest-profile athlete affected by the regulations, but not the only one.

The rules demand that Semenya lower her testosterone levels artificially — by either taking birth control pills daily, having hormone-blocking injections or undergoing surgery — to be allowed to run in races from 400 meters to one mile. Semenya has simply refused to do that, pointing out the irony that in a sport where doping is such a scourge, authorities want her to take drugs to be eligible to run at the Olympics. In addition, they have allowed transgender athletes to compete as women this year but will not allow biological women to compete in the same races.

Interestingly, World Athletics decided to only enforce the testosterone rules for track events from 400 meters to one mile. Racism against black athletes is real.

Semenya can compete in the 100 and 200 meters and long-distance races without lowering her testosterone levels and field events are also unregulated, which gives an open door for transgender athletes. Semenya continues to fight against the testosterone regulations in court. She has launched three legal appeals against the rules, calling them unfair and discriminatory, and appears determined to wage her legal fight to the very end. Having failed in appeals at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss supreme court, Semenya has now lodged an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights.

Semenya’s first appeal at sport’s highest court revealed a bitter battle between her and track authorities, centered on World Athletics’ claim in the closed doors hearing that she was “biologically male.” Semenya angrily refuted that, having been identified as female at birth and having identified as female her whole life. She called the assertion “deeply hurtful.”

Two female athletes from Namibia were barred from competing in the 400 meters at the Tokyo Olympics after they underwent medical tests, and it was discovered they had high natural testosterone levels. One of them, Christine Mboma, is the world under-20 record holder.

The two runners that finished second and third behind Semenya at the 2016 Olympics, Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi, and Margaret Wambui of Kenya, have said publicly they also are affected by the testosterone regulations and have been banned from the 800, too, unless they undergo medical intervention. Niyonsaba has qualified for the Olympics in the 5,000 meters.

The rules seem to be made for black athletes only. When it suites western countries, the rules can change quickly.