Olympic and world 800-meter champion Caster Semenya has joined American football player Colin Kaepernick in featuring in a bold new Nike ad, with her tagline stating, "I was born to do this."
The South African middle distance star is in the process of taking the IAAF to court over a controversial new ruling, which could see her forced out of her favoured 800-meter distance unless she takes medication to inhibit her testosterone levels.
While the IAAF have not stated the ruling is about her specifically and will defend it at the Court of Arbitrations for Sport (CAS), she is by far the most high profile athlete affected by it. If she does not comply, the ruling will take effect on 1 November.
In the ad's voice-over, which plays as her life is reversed Benjamin Button-style, she takes aim at her critics: "Will it be easier for you if I wasn't so fast? Will it be simpler if I stop winning? Would you be more comfortable if I was less proud?"
When you're born to do it - just do it. #justdoit pic.twitter.com/oIf0j2WpM9
— Caster Semenya (@caster800m) September 11, 2018
While the reaction to Kaepernick's Nike ad, which aired on the opening night of the NFL season, was mixed, the local reaction to Semenya's ad was overwhelmingly positive on social media, described by turns as 'fabulous', 'beautiful' and 'knocked it out the park'.
Semenya was in the news on a lighter note recently when NBA star LeBron James made a trip to Berlin to see her race, and she also ended her IAAF Diamond League season with a win in Zurich.