How I hoped that Caster Semenya would not only wipe out Zola Budd’s longstanding South African 1500m record, but also the world record.
In fact I hope that she also makes a crack at the 800m world record at these Commonwealth Games before the IAAF wipe Semenya from their record books.
Come November and the world athletics body are hoping to have a new policy in place that puts the South African’s participation in future competitions in jeopardy.
Since bursting onto the global stage with 800m gold at the Berlin World Championships in 2009, suspicion over her sex has been the cause of persecution.
Now after two Olympic golds and three world titles in the 800m and threatening to dominate the 1 500m event, it seems Caster could finally be curbed for good.
See, the IAAF have been pushing to clamp down on women with Hyperandrogenism.
Women with this condition, like Caster, produce more testosterone than most females.
IN SPOTLIGHT: Caster, centre, is dominating in Australia. Photo: DEAN LEWINS/EPA
According to reports from a 2009 study, Caster naturally produces three times more testosterone than the vast majority of women.
This is supposed to give the 27-year-old an unfair advantage over athletes of the female sex.
But the IAAF has been blocke by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) until they can actually prove that Caster actually does have this apparent advantage.
According to the IAAF, in Caster’s events, she has a 4.4 percent advantage and they hope that that will be enough to convince the CAS.
However, other sports scientists reckon that the average difference in performance between male and female athletes is 10 percent.
GOLDEN GIRL: Caster at Rio 2016
Obviously this means that Caster is clearly a woman. But what the IAAF wants to do is either stop her from competing or they want her to take testosterone-suppressing drugs.
I don’t know what this sounds like to you, but to make someone change how their body works naturally doesn’t sit well with me. Especially since most of the affected events are smack bang in Caster’s territory.
You would think that this advantage would play out in every event and some more than others.
I don’t think that a woman would stand a chance against a Caster in the 100m or 200m where raw speed is the deciding factor. But this is not a targeted event. Neither is the high jump, the long jump or the pole vault. Maar hoe dan? Because it’s a witch hunt. I guess that is the right term to use in this situation.