Top 10 African athletes who blazed a trail for women in sports

Caster Semenya (South Africa)

She is a double champion and triple world champion in the 800m distance. Semenya won the gold medal at the Berlin World Championships in 2009. She first participated in an international competition in 2008, when she competed in the 800m junior world championships. She subsequently won the gold medal at the African Championships in Mauritius in 2009. Semenya also became the World Champion in Daegu in 2011. She also won a gold medal at the Olympic Games in London 2012 and Rio 2016, before once again becoming the world champion at London 2017.

The South African runner, however, became a subject of controversy after leaked reports revealed that she has internal testes which made her testosterone levels three times that of an average woman. Many subsequently argued that she should not be allowed to compete as a female because of the belief that her hormones give her an unfair advantage over other women.