Hello and welcome to Ways to Change the World. I'm Christian and this is the

podcast in which we talk to extraordinary people about the big ideas in their lives

and the events that have helped shape them. My guest this week is an Olympic and world champion athlete who has

been at the centre of a global discussion about what it means to be a female athlete and the culture war that has surrounded the whole argument around gender.

Kaster Semenya stayed quiet through most of the argument that surrounded her for many years

but she has now written her own story called the race to be myself.

Thank you very much for joining us. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.

You've written this I suppose because you now see yourself a sort of post-athletics. You're a sort of a campaigner, a almost an activist.

What is it you want to do with yourself now?

For me, what I want to do with myself now I think more for advocating for what is right,

diverse and inclusivity, but mostly focus more on young girls that are facing scrutiny who are being judged

who have been told they're not enough but just only to remind them you know they

matter they should take you know, they matter. They should take, you know, their life seriously,

they should know what is right and fight for what is right. I think it's more for encouraging them to

voice out, you know, for what they believe is right and always you know try to encourage those

who are you know cannot you know stand up for themselves you know go out there for

for you know fight for their rights so let's sort of wind the clock back and

talk about the story I mean first of all you know you're you're different you say that you

are different in what way are you different?

I think why I say I'm different is because I'm a woman who's born with differences

which is that's what makes me a different woman you know from other women which is you know I'm

born with internal you know grenades I'm born without you know you terrace I don't have a

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