In the spirit of Women’s Day and Month, Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration Pinky Kekana, who happens to be Mamelodi Sundowns player Grant Kekana’s mother, says she cannot wait to see former two times Olympic champion Caster Semenya back on track, doing what she knows best, which is outrunning other athletes.
Semenya recently won her testosterone levels case against Switzerland, where the highest court of human rights, the European Court of Human Rights, ruled that the South African middle-distance runner did not have a fair trial on the need to lower testosterone levels to compete in women’s sport.
Between 2011 and 2015, the 34-year-old was subjected to a process set out by World Athletics, which she likened to being used as a “guinea pig”, where she took medication to lower her testosterone levels that left her battling several side effects.
Kekana, who said she was behind Semenya throughout her fight with the governing body of track and field, expressed how delighted she is.
“I can’t wait to see Caster Semenya back on the track doing what she loves and does best. The sky is the limit for her,” Kekana said during an interview with Sunday World recently.
“If an 83-year-old [Marosi Johannes Mosehla] can still run a comrade’s marathon, what will stop Caster from running and competing again at the highest level? She is still only 34 years old.”
The MP opened up about the challenges they faced throughout the legal battle.
“I was called by the commission on gender equality, together with the legal team that was put together to help Caster with the court proceedings.
“And it was at that time when they tried to reach out to everyone to be able to say, ‘How does government help?’ So, government and public representatives were all involved in supporting her.
“It was not easy. It was costly, but we came together, and we are grateful that she was able to finally overcome this hurdle,” Kekana said.
