A new challenge is approaching in Caster Semenya‘s career. Of course, it is not on the track where everyone saw her shine, but rather she is preparing to be a candidate for the presidency of World Athletics, the governing organization of world athletics. The 33-year-old South African and Olympic champion in the 800 meters at London 2012 and Rio 2016 said she was available to succeed the outgoing Sebastian Coen.
“I’m working on my candidacy for the presidency, I like to challenge people who don’t care about the rights of athletes,” Semenya told ARD. “I understand the importance of sport. I understand that I have to put the athletes first. It’s not about me. It should be about serving the athletes. It should be about protecting them and making sure that all athletes are treated equally.” , she added.
The British manager will leave the presidency after being at the helm for the last few years and having previously been vice president of the Senegalese Lamine Diack, who resigned in 2015 due to corruption accusations. From there it was Coen’s turn, who will not be able to run for re-election since the World Athletics statutes only allow him to be president for a maximum of two terms.
That is the position for which Semenya is applying, who also expressed confidence in being able to achieve changes and in addition to having the support to achieve her goal. “Of course, I can get enough support for this. When you run for office, you have to have a vision. You should not make promises in the election campaign that cannot be kept, that are not feasible or unrealistic. I think if I follow this way, I will receive a lot of support,” said the South African.
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Semenya is knowledgeable about the good and bad of athletics. Her case was known worldwide for having too high natural levels of testosterone, which is why he has not been able to compete internationally lately. Her intersex condition made her gender doubtful at the time, but it did not prevent her from establishing herself as one of the best runners in the world in the 800 meters, shining in both the Olympic Games and the World Cups.
At the moment, the South African is the only one who has expressed her option to succeed Sebastian Coen in the most important position in World Athletics.
