THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2020
THE CHRONICLE — 9
US OLYMPIC TRACK & FIELD TRIALS
USA OLYMPIC
TRIALS
GET INVOLVED!
Registration for volunteers during the
2020 Olympic Trials opens in early March.
Be informed about opportunities to get
involved by signing up for the Tracktown20
newsletter at TrackTown20.com.
June 18-25
A weekly report from Joey Blum of The Chronicle • joey@chronicle1909.com
WORLD, USA
RECORDS
SPOTLIGHT: THE MIDDLE-DISTANCE RACES
World leaders off track with decision
to ban honest, worthy competitors
WORLD RECORDS
Women’s 800m
1.53.28, Jarmila Kratochvilova,
1983
Women’s 1500m
3:50.07, Genzebe Dibaba, 2015
Men’s 800m
1:41.09, David Rudisha, 2010
Men’s 1500m
3:26.00, Hicham El Guerrouj,
1998
“All Olympians have some exceptional traits.
That is why they are elite athletes. A level playing
fi eld for everyone remains elusive, perhaps unat-
tainable.”
– Jeré Longman, writing in The New York
Times, Aug. 18, 2016
P
Donovan Brazier
USA RECORDS
Women’s 800m
1:55.61, Ajee Wilson, 2017
Women’s 1500m
3:54.99, Shelby Houlihan, 2019
Men’s 800m
1:42.34, Donavan Brazier, 2019
Men’s 1500m
3:27.40, Bernard Lagat, 2004
TICKET INFO
& MORE
ON SALE NOW
Single-day ticket sales are
underway at TrackTown20.
com, by calling 800-932-3668,
or in person at the University of
Oregon Athletics ticket offi ce
at Autzen Stadium, 2727 Leo
Harris Parkway, Eugene.
NEED HOUSING
AT THE TRIALS?
Housing will be available in the
residence halls on the main UO
campus within walking distance
of Hayward Field. To be added
to the University of Oregon
Housing waitlist, send your
contact information to Stacie
Irvin, Director of Conference &
Event Services at irvin@uore-
gon.edu.
NEXT WEEK
Joey takes a deep dive into
The Relays – introducing you
to the best 4x100 and 4x400
runners in the United States
who are coming to the southern
Willamette Valley this summer.
erhaps the best women’s 800-meter runner in
the world, Caster Semenya of South Africa,
will not compete at the Tokyo Olympics from
July 24 through Aug. 9 this year.
Semenya is not
COMMENTARY
injured, has not been
defeated by others vying for a spot on the South
African team, and has not been excluded for cheat-
ing.
World Athletics (the international governing
body of track and fi eld) has banned Semenya and
any woman athlete with a certain level of testoster-
one in their body – even if that level occurs natu-
rally.
World Athletics offi cials have said that high
testosterone gives women an unfair advantage
over other women runners. Offi cials acknowledge
that Semenya was born with a condition the medi-
cal world calls “hyperandrogenism” (a fi ne term
if ever there was one) that accounts for her having
the anatomy of a woman but the hormonal makeup
of a man.
World Athletics leaders decided that because of
her hyperandrogenism, Semenya, who is well-mus-
cled compared to most women, must reduce her
testosterone levels with surgery or by using drugs
if she wants to compete on the international stage.
I fi nd this ruling ridiculous!
Because the medical world describes something
and assigns a Latin name to it does not make it
meaningful or relevant across all facets of life.
Secretariat is the greatest racehorse in history.
When he died, an autopsy revealed that he had
a far bigger heart than most other horses. World
Athletics offi cials might have described Secretariat
as having “cardiomegaly” (Latin for “giant heart”)
and banned him from racing because of the
perceived advantage it gave him.
Wilt Chamberlain once dominated basketball,
unlike any human in history. By World Athletics’
logic, Chamberlain would have been excluded from
the NBA because he had gigantism. What if an
athlete has bigger hands, bigger feet, better eyes:
what then?
World Athletics offi cials believe they are trying
to “level the playing fi eld,” and I take them at their
word; I just don’t agree with how they’re doing it.
Caster Semenya (above) has inherent
physical attributes – similar to Secreteriat
and Wilt Chamberlain – that help them
outclass their peers.
I believe Semenya was banned because her
muscled physique does not fi t an arbitrary image
of what is feminine. It’s a sad example of appear-
ances outweighing the more essential facts. There
is just too much scientific uncertainty about
whether heightened testosterone levels account for
increased athletic performance. But I’ll go even
further: I would let Semenya compete even if it
were proven that her naturally occurring height-
ened testosterone levels helped her win.
Every great athlete has some form of advantage
that makes them elite. Semenya was born with her
body, developed it to run fast, and became a great
runner through discipline and dedication. I think
that in life and in sports, we should celebrate the
gifts we receive without drawing artifi cial distinc-
tions about sex by invoking false claims of preserv-
ing competitive balance. We should stop hiding our
prejudices behind the pursuit of a mythical “level
playing fi eld.”
“God made me the way I am, and I accept myself.
I am who I am, and I’m proud of myself,” Semenya
has said.
I look forward to your thoughts on this and other
topics related to track and fi eld.
Write to me at joey@chronicle1909.com.