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The women's 800m sprint at Tokyo Olympics 2020 will see a new champion this summer. Caster Semenya, the 800m champion at the London and Rio Games, will miss the Tokyo edition.
Why is Caster Semenya not participating at the Tokyo Games?
Caster Semenya, an intersex sprinter from South Africa, has higher testosterone levels in her body.
According to a research commissioned by World Athletics, female athletes with increased levels of testosterone had a "competetive advantage." The research says that the increased testosterone could improve an athlete's performance by as much as 3%.
Following the research, World Athletics, in 2018, decided to prohibit female athletes, including Caster Semenya, from competing in any race from 400m to a mile.
Caster Semenya appealed the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but her appeal was turned down. This meant she had to undergo medical intervention to lower her testosterone levels. However, Semenya refused to take any medication, defying the rule set by World Athletics. Earlier this year, she approached the European Court of Human Rights. Caster Semenya is still waiting for a ruling.
In an attempt to represent South Africa at the Tokyo Games, Semenya took up 5000 meters, an event beyond WA's restrictions.
But the shift from sprint to long-distance running has proved difficult for the two-time Olympic champion.
Earlier this year, Caster Semenya participated in two qualifying events in South Africa in her bid for Tokyo. She clocked 15:32.15 in Durban. in Pretoria, she finished the race in 15:52.28. The Olympic qualification was set at 15:10.00.
Caster Semenya then headed to Belgium in a last-minute dash to be at the quadrennial games.
At a qualifying event hosted in Liege, Caster Semenya completed the 5000m race in 15:50.12. Her performance was still not good enough to guarantee her a place in the South African contingent for Tokyo. The event in Liege was Caster Semenya's last hope. Even though this was after the official deadline of June 29, the runner hoped she would be given special grace had she qualified.
Caster Semenya's pervious Olympic performances
At the London Olympics, Caster Semenya qualified for the women's 400m final with a timing of 1:57.67. Mariya Savinova of Russia came first with an impressive time of 1:56.19. Caster Semenya was second with a time of 1:57.23.
But in 2017, Mariya Savinova was stripped of her 800m title and banned until 2019 after being found guilty of doping. Mariya Savinova's punishment meant that Caster Semenya had her silver upgraded to gold.
Four years later, at the Rio Games, Caster Semenya qualified for the final with a time of 1:58.15. Unlike in London, where she lagged through the first half of the race, the South African dominated the final in Rio from the start. She fired on all cylinders in the home stretch and crossed the finish line in 1:55.34 to win her second Olympic gold medal.
Who can be the next Caster Semenya?
With Caster Semenya out of the Tokyo Games, the world is on the lookout for the next 800 m women's champion.
World Athletics, in their series "100 ones to watch in Tokyo: middle-distance" has picked Norwegian sprinter Hedda Hynne as the one to watch out for in the women's 800m.
Hedda Hynne is a multiple national champion. She set the Norwegian outdoor 800m record of 1:58.10 in Switzerland in 2020 and picked up from where she left off over the winter, improving the Norwegian indoor record to 2:00.92 in France.
Growing up, Hedda Hynne played football. She picked up athletics as a teenager. Since 2015, she has been a full-time athlete. In 2016, she made the European final in Amsterdam and then competed at her first Olympics in Rio. However, she returned home with an underwhelming performance.
But since the Rio Games, she has trained hard, got in shape and improved her time. In Tokyo, Hynne will be a favorite to win the women's 800m.
