Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 116, March 2019 | Page 8

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t h e
Compiled by Manfred Seidler
There is no doubt that the ongoing case
of Caster Semenya versus the IAAF
regarding athletes with Differences
of Sex Development (DSD) will have
massive ramifications in the world of
athletics. The week of 22-26 February
saw the IAAF present their case to the
Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) in
Switzerland, where they laid out their
reasons for wanting to regulate the levels
of testosterone in female athletes. Caster
and a team of sport scientists and sport
lawyers are challenging this decision, and
the CAS will make its ruling on 26 March.
The IAAF is looking to introduce new rules
surrounding the eligibility of DSD athletes,
based on the premise that testosterone
is the main driver of differences in size,
strength and power between males and females. The IAAF is targeting the women’s
track events ranging from 400m to the mile, and the new regulations are meant
to be a final test as to whether an athlete should be allowed to compete in the
female category or not. These rules would apply only to women who have natural
Testosterone levels above 5nmol/L.
Another Dream Mile
for Mphahlele
Middle distance sensation Ryan
Mphahlehle ran the fourth sub-four minute
mile of his fledgling career as he blasted
away from a quality field in the Dagbreek
Street Mile in Stellenbosch on 27 February.
He clocked 3:58.14 to take the win, which
now gives him three ‘Dream Miles’ on
the road and one on the track. The man
who goes by the nickname ‘Tornado from
Tembisa’ is clearly in good form ahead
of the upcoming World Cross Country
Championships in Aarhus, Denmark on 30
March, where he has made no secret of
the fact that he will be aiming for top 10
position, if not better.
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ISSUE 116 MARCH 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Mokoka Heads to Japan
South Africa’s top marathoner, Stephen
Mokoka, will head to Japan on 17 March
for the 74 th running of the Lake Biwa
Mainichi Marathon. He will be part of a
line-up featuring six athletes who have gone
better than 2:08 for the standard distance.
Stephen’s best of 2:07:40, run in Shanghai
in 2015, ranks him as the fifth-fastest in
the field. The 33-year-old has now firmly
shifted his focus to the marathon, and has
said his immediate goal is to compete in
the marathon at the World Championships
in Doha on 5 October. That race will get
underway at the unusual time of midnight to
combat the high heat and humidity prevalent
in Qatar at that time of year.
Good Indoor Results in the USA
There were more good
performances by South
African students on the
US Collegiate indoor
circuit in recent weeks.
At the Fastrack Last
Chance Invitational
in State Island on
15 February, Lewis
Ngwenya finished fifth
in the 800m in 1:55.74.
The next day saw Lebo
Mosito claim second
place with a 14:14.16 in the 5000m at the Conference USA Indoor Champs in
Birmingham, while Sherilene Gelderblom claimed fourth in the women’s 5000m
(17:18.63).
At the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships in Birmingham on 19
February, Heinrich Herbst posted a 1:54.88 for second place in the 800m, after
clocking 1:54.00 in the heats the previous day. Carina Viljoen ran her second-
fastest time for the mile, 4:41.40, to take second place at the Southeastern
Conference Indoor Championships in Fayetteville on 23 February. Also, Mosito
clocked 14:21.66 for third place in the 5000m at the Boston University Last
Chance Meet on 24 February.
BackTrack
Semenya vs The IAAF