Caster Semenya’s biography The Race to Be Myself will be published on 31 October 2023 by Jonathan Ball Publishers.

‘Caster’s story isn’t just a tale of perseverance and poise, it’s a story that makes us all interrogate our humanity and the world we build with our actions every day. An essential read.’ – Trevor Noah

Caster Semenya is one of the greatest athletes ever to run the 800-metre. She went undefeated for almost four years, winning two Olympic gold medals and three World Athletics Championships, and set and broke numerous records.

However, Semenya’s life and career were devastated by accusations that she was not a woman and should not compete against other women as she was born with naturally elevated levels of testosterone.

Required by the International Association of Athletics Federations to take hormone-altering drugs as a condition of competing in certain events, Semenya for years suffered side effects that she describes as devastating to her health. Her predicament surfaced a still-raging firestorm over our understanding of gender and, of how gender plays out in sports, as well as our expectations of female athletes.

The Race to be Myself tells the coming-of-age story of an iconic athlete – of Semenya’s dramatic journey from a gifted and self-trained novice to the pinnacle of her sport – and takes readers behind the scenes of her inspiring battle to run in the ‘body that God gave me’.

Upcoming book launches

16 November 2023: Mall of the North, Limpopo
18 November 2023: Mall of Africa, Gauteng
21 November 2023: Gateway, KwaZulu-Natal
23 November 2023: V&A Waterfront, Western Cape

About the author

Caster Semenya is a professional runner from South Africa. She’s a two-time Olympic gold medallist and a three-time World Athletics gold medallist. She lives in Pretoria, South Africa.

Categories International Non-fiction South Africa

Tags Biography Caster Semenya Jonathan Ball Publishers Memoir New books New releases Sport The Race to Be Myself