Caster Semenya Named Among TIME's 100 Most Influential People Of 2019

If there’s any case currently shaking up the athletics world, it’s the case of Caster Semenya vs the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). While the case is still on, the South African has just been named among TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2019.

Now, back to the case: IAAF argues that Semenya has a higher level of testosterone compared to other female athletes, and so they want her to either take medications to reduce it or switch to long-distance races.

As ridiculous as that sounds, this argument plays a huge role in Semenya’s recognition in the world today, because she’s standing up for herself by taking the federation to the Court of Arbitration for Sport; not to mention the overwhelming support she has received from people across the world.

In a small note about her, which is published in the issue, former Olympic gold medalist, Edwin Moses, wrote:

“Caster Semenya has taught us that sex isn’t always binary and caused us to question the justness of distributing societal benefits according to ‘male’ and ‘female’ classifications.

However it is addressed, Semenya will have already made a singular historical contribution to our understanding of biological sex.”

The athlete is named in the icons section alongside Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga and Spike Lee among others.