Doesn't it all seem a little too
convenient that Caster Semenya has been shackled?
World and Olympic champion in her events and almost invincible with a running style that makes it seem like she only puts minimum effort in, the South African has finally stopped.
For 10 years, her competitors and the IAAF have pursued her and now they are ready to humiliate her.
Whatever you think of Caster, whether you are threatened by her looks, her body, her lifestyle, she is a woman.
But to the IAAF, she was a freak because her body produces more testosterone than her competitors.
That level of testosterone for the chiefs of the sport is the measure of whether she is a woman or a man - a point sports scientists are still debating - and now she has been given a choice: race as a man or take drugs to inhibit your body’s natural advantage.
The medication she will be prescribed will, according to renowned sports scientist Ross Tucker, slow her down by between five to seven seconds.
At the level Caster races at, that time is the difference between
winning gold and coming last.
And while the Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) ruled that this is discrimination, they say that the discrimination is “necessary and proportionate” to protect the “integrity of female athletes”.
All because it was deemed fair to level out the playing field.
The Swiss court did acknowledge that the science the IAAF brought forward was shaky and recommended that Caster still run the 1500m and miss out on her beloved 800m.
Whether she will be allowed to compete in the mile remains to be seen, but the IAAF World Championships in September will have a different layout.
Whatever Caster decides, to take the drugs and compete or hang up her boots, she must remember it’s because of fear and ignorance that she was cast out.
Still, she has been expanding her horizons on the track with impressive times at 1 500m and 5 000m.
I just hope that wherever she goes, she stays as competitive as she is right now and get her own back.