Sebastian Coe, former British Olympic athlete, now multi millionaire, using his influence as the IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation) President, has been showing indifference towards unbeaten and unbeatable Olympic 800 metre champion,Caster Semenya (an African) and her right to possibly win yet another Olympic Gold at the forthcoming Japan Olympics. Double Olympic champ Semenya has dominated the 800 metres event for over a decade.
Sebastian Coe demands that Semenya should, by the use of “medication”, (drugs!), artificially reduce her natural testosterone levels, before she is allowed to compete.
So far Sebastian Coe’s lobby have partially succeeded, ensuring that she does not deprive them of a gold medal at the IAAF World championship which is currently taking place in Doha.
She has withdrawn, rather than meet his absurd demand.
Semenya has filed a challenge against the IAAF, in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Not having either the smooth talking ability of the Brit or the powerful backing of Western nations, Semenya has not spoken much to the Media, as Coe has recently done.
No less an organization than the UN Human Rights Council has condemned this move.
In a rare intrusion in the world of sport, the UN’s top human rights body has said that the IAAF may be in breach of International Human Rights norms and standards.
The unwritten part of the message is-“we (the European athletes), can’t beat her, so we’ll cheat (obstruct) her”.
The notion that an athlete should medically or surgically remove his or her (naturally occurring) competitive advantage is outrageous and absurd. What next?
Exceptional swimmers such as Mark Phelps (who have unusually huge hands and feet giving him extra momentum) should be debarred? Exceptionally tall high jumpers too must be banned?
The greatest irony is that Sebastion Coe himself enjoyed a physical quirk that gave him a competitive advantage during his own heydays. Although 5’ 9” tall, he weighed only 54 kilograms which gave him a competitive “edge”, in his chosen event!
At forthcoming elections to the IAAF presidency and positions, Africa and Asia (Sri Lanka too), should vote appropriately to prevent people like Seb Coe and others in the IAAF from taking high office.