News Brief
Rufaro Samanga
May. 02, 2019 04:06AM EST

#JustDoItForCaster Shows How South Africa is Rallying Behind Caster Semenya

South Africans are showing their support for the athlete after she lost her landmark case over testosterone rules.

Yesterday, South African athlete and Olympic gold medalist, Caster Semenya, lost her case against the IAAF. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) ruled in favor of the IAAF which wants Semenya to lower her naturally high testosterone levels if she wants to continue to compete.

The ruling by Cas is a massive blow to Semenya and the global community who have been rallying behind her since she challenged the IAAF in June of last year. For many, the ruling has been seen as a gross violation of Semenya's human rights and dignity as well as a blatantly misogynistic disregard of her as a Black woman.

In the midst of all this, Semenya has remained incredibly gracious and even tweeted an image that simply read, "Sometimes it's better to react with no reaction." She also vowed that the decision made by Cas would in no way stop her from doing what she does best—win.

While South Africans, be they politicians, celebrities or ordinary citizens, have shown tremendous support for Semenya in #JustDoItForCaster, what is astounding is the support and solidarity that the rest of the world is equally showing Semenya.

One twitter user promised Semenya that Black women were coming for everything that was taken from them while another compared Semenya to a lion—brave and strong and exactly what the world needs.


Take a look at the rest of these tweets below:






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