Caster Semenya among TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2019

South Africa's Caster Semenya competes in a heat of the women's 800 metres athletics event at the 2015 IAAF World Championships at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium in Beijing on August 26, 2015. AFP PHOTO / OLIVIER MORIN (Photo credit should read OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Olympic champion Caster Semenya has been named among TIME Magazine‘s 100 Most Influential People of 2019. The star is named in the Icons category alongside Michelle Obama and Spike Lee.

Image: TIME Magazine

The star’s tribute was written by former athlete Edwin Moses, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in track and field who helped develop the sport’s drug-testing programs. In it, he praised Caster for her quest to fight for sport eligibility saying in part; “Semenya identifies as a woman, but has testosterone levels higher than the typical female. Her success has brought controversy in elite sport, with many arguing that her biological traits give her an unfair advantage in women’s competition. But Semenya is fighting that.”

Caster Semenya among TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2019. So well deserved!

Introducing the 2019 #TIME100 https://t.co/1WeH62z2pQ pic.twitter.com/iBKrhSl9D0

— TIME (@TIME) April 17, 2019