South African Olympic champion Caster Semenya will deliver the keynote address at a prestigious Women In Power Conference at Harvard University in the United States on April 12, 2025.
Caster, a multiple Olympic, World Championship, and Commonwealth Games gold medalist, will speak on the topic ‘Reimagining Power: Establishing a New Legacy.’
Her speech will highlight how she has remained unbeatable in spirit and resilient despite adversity, particularly the controversial regulations imposed by World Athletics, which she has challenged as discriminatory.
“They can take me off the track, but they can’t stop me from running,” said Caster ahead of her U.S. trip as well as a pending ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Caster’s case against World Athletics in Strasbourg, France.
“God created me for a purpose – to fight for what’s right and to speak the truth. No stain in my life, or any person, can take that away from me,’ says Caster, who remains resolute in her mission to inspire and uplift others.
Through the Caster Semenya Foundation, she is committed to nurturing the next generation of South African Olympians.
In 2023, Caster released her memoir, The Race to Be Myself, chronicling her life, advocacy journey and legal battle against World Athletics, which mandated that she undergo testosterone-lowering treatments to compete. She refused, taking a stand against discrimination. While she won a 2023 human rights ruling, the regulations barring her from competing without medical intervention remain in place, ahead of the ECHR judgment in Strasbourg.
“The most important thing you can do is embrace and respect yourself for who you are. To be unbeatable, self-identity and self-respect matter. I love who I am,” added Caster.
First published by Cape {town} etc
