Though officials and rules have created hurdles every step of the way, at least one athlete with differences of sexual development (DSD) will compete on the track at the Tokyo Olympics.
She won’t be contesting her specialist event, as she would no doubt prefer, but in a small personal victory over a system which has tried to keep her down, Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi will line up without taking hormone suppressants.
While Caster Semenya continues to fight World Athletics gender rules in court, she and Niyonsaba have been locked in a determined battle to compete at the Games regardless of the obstacles placed in their way.
Suspended from racing over distances between 400m and 1,500m unless they lower their natural testosterone levels, Semenya and Niyonsaba have both set their sights on competing in the 5,000m event in Tokyo.
Both athletes have understandably struggled with the shift in focus after concentrating on the 800m event throughout their careers.
Semenya has nonetheless made significant improvement over 12-and-a-half laps this year, lowering her personal best to 15:32.15 at the Newton Classic Qualifier meeting in Durban last week.
She still needs to find more than 20 seconds to achieve the automatic Olympic qualifying standard of 15:10.00, but the South African star has proved she has the potential to book her place in the national team.
Regardless of whether she gets there, however, Niyonsaba is set to be a thorn in the side of international officials as she sidesteps restrictions to represent her country at the Games.
In France earlier this week, Niyonsaba clocked 14:54.38 to qualify in the 5,000m.
One of the most bizarre aspects of the DSD rule which is preventing them from competing over their best distances is that athletes with hyperandrogenism have not been banned from women’s events across the board.
And it is a loophole created by this strange decision which has allowed Niyonsaba to ensure she will turn out in Tokyo without taking hormone suppressants.
For Semenya, there is still some work to do if she hopes to line up alongside Niyonsaba at the Games, with her court battle unlikely to be concluded before the showpiece takes place.
Even if she doesn’t qualify before the window closes at the end of this month, however, Semenya will be able to take some consolation from the participation of Niyonsaba, her perennial rival in the 800m event.
She probably won’t be challenging for a medal against the world’s best 5,000m runners, but Niyonsaba will make another statement in defence of DSD athletes, once again proving that they won’t give up.
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