Phil Stracchino [DEFUNCT]

2019-06-05 03:20:48

It's not just Caster Semenya

Or, in which inequality is perfectly fair

---

The International Association of Athletics Federations has told another black female athlete, Kenyan runner Margaret Wambui, that she must take medication to lower her naturally high testosterone levels because it's "unfair".

(What is it that's unfair — that she's naturally faster than some other female runners? Or is it maybe that she might be able to compete against men?)

Female athletes who have one of a specific set of conditions that cause testosterone levels higher than the typical female range now have to lower those levels to be eligible to compete at international events.

The IAAF provides three options to lower the hormone levels: Daily contraceptive pills, a monthly hormone-blocking injection or surgery.

The World Medical Association has criticized this rule as unethical, and has advised doctors not to comply. Human Rights Watch has accused the IAAF of discrimination.

Margaret Wambui told them to go pound sand.

So has the Swiss Supreme Court in Caster Semenya's legal challenge, ordering the IAAF to suspend its testosterone rules pending the full outcome of the case. (The IAAF is trying to interpret this order as applying only to Semenya.)

Burundi's Francine Niyonsaba is subject to the IAAF rule. So is Indian sprinter Dutee Chand. The IAAF won't identify who it believes its rule covers, but says there are dozens in "elite athletics".

I wonder — are any of them white? None of the ones we know about so far are.

You know what, IAAF? You can go straight to hell. And don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out. And I want to be a fly on the wall the day you tell Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson — face to face — that he has to take medication because he's too strong.

We don't need an Equalizer General.

#athletics #NaturallyFast