Caster Semenya's failure to qualify for the women's 5,000m final at the World Athletics Championships has raised serious doubts over her future in the sport.
In searing heat at Hayward Field in Eugene, the South African could only finish 13th in her first-round race. Her time of 15:46:12 ended up being a full 45 seconds off the mark needed to progress to the final.
Semenya, 31, is a double Olympic champion and three-time world champion over her favoured 800m distance. She's also a Commonwealth Games and African Championships gold medalist over 1500m. But since 2009, that athlete has been subjected to tough treatment at the hands of authorities.
The IAAF forced her to undergo sex verification tests. It was later concluded that Semenya's testosterone levels were abnormally high for a female, an issue beyond her own control.
However, in April 2018, the IAAF announced new rules that required athletes who have certain disorders of sex development to take medication if their testosterone levels were elevated above a certain level. The ruling only applied to eight events, including the 400m, 800m, and 1500m.
The Pietersburg-born star challenged the IAAF's proposals, However, before the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she lost her appeal at the Swiss Supreme Court.
Speaking immediately after her race on Thursday, Semenya didn't appear to give any implication she would now consider quitting the sport, preferring instead to focus on what racing a new distance had taught her: "I think it is great to be able to run here," she said. Just being able to finish the 5k, for me it is a blessing. I am learning and I am willing to learn even more.”
As for the conditions, Semenya admitted to struggling with the heat: "Cooking! It was hot, I couldn’t keep up with the pace, I tried to stick as much as I can, but you know, it is a part of the game."
Despite her defiance, her sense of injustice at being barred from competing in her strongest events has raised fears that her run in Oregon will prover her last on the world stage. The 2023 World Championships in Budapest lie just 13 months away, and it is appears unfathomable she will be able to turn around her 5,000m form in order to compete amongst the best in such a short space of time.
Only last month, Semenya took aim at leading figures in African athletics, who she accused of failing to stick up for their athletes: "I think that, in this day, we have coward leaders," she told BBC Sport Africa.
"In this continent, people are quiet. I don't know why they're quiet. They're not fighting for their own athletes. You have got to show up and work, fight for your athletes, and then African athletics will be great. At this moment it's disappointing."
She also vowed to keep fighting her case, adding: "At the moment it is not about me, it's about the young kids that are coming up now that are going to face the same problem. There are a lot of kids that want to compete in 400m, in 800m and in 1500m, but they cannot be included."
