Francine Niyonsaba (born May 5, 1993) is a Burundian

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

, who specialized in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

and shifted to longer distances in 2019. She was the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

silver medalist in the women's

. Her silver medal was the first Olympic medal for Burundi since 1996. Niyonsaba won a silver in the event at the 2017 World Championships. She is a two-time 800m world indoor champion, having won 800m in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. After her move to longer distances, Niyonsaba finished fifth over the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. She holds the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

in the 2000 metres, and seven Burundian records. In 2019,

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

announced that Niyonsaba would not be allowed to compete under the female classification in events between 400 metres and one mile due to its regulations on XY DSD athletes with naturally high

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondar ...

levels.

Career

Francine Niyonsaba quickly rose to prominence in 2012 while still a teenager. The first time she set the

record was in late June 2012 while narrowly winning the

2012 African Championships in Athletics The 2012 African Championships in Athletics was held at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo, Benin from 27 June to 1 July 2012. It was the first time that Benin had hosted the event. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Participatin ...

in 1:59.11 in what was only her third competitive race. At that, she improved upon her own previous national record of 2:02.13, set in the qualifying round. In the opening round race, the inexperienced runner had opened up a 30 meters lead the pack. Three weeks later, on July 20, 2012, she improved the record again to 1:58.68 while finishing second at the

2012 Diamond League The 2012 IAAF Diamond League (also known as the 2012 Samsung Diamond League for sponsorship purposes) was the third edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 11 May in Doha, Q ...

meeting at

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. World records Over the course of its history, five world reco ...

. During the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Niyonsaba reduced her own 800m record to 1:58.67 on August 9, 2012, in the semi-final round. It was a 0.01 seconds improvement on her previous record. Two days later, she finished seventh (subsequently upgraded to fifth as a result of the doping disqualifications of Russian athletes

Elena Arzhakova Elena Vladimirovna Arzhakova (russian: Елена Владимировна Аржакова; born 8 September 1989) is a Russian runner who specializes in the middle distance events. The 2011 European Indoor champion at 1500m, Arzhakova was susp ...

and

Mariya Savinova Mariya Sergeyevna Savinova (russian: Мария Сергеевна Савинова; born 13 August 1985) is a Russian former athlete who specialized in the 800-metres event. In 2017, she was found guilty of doping and was subsequently suspen ...

) in the final. Less than a month later, she took the record down to 1:56.59. In 2016, Niyonsaba won the

800 meters The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...

at the

2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 16th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held between March 17 and 20, 2016 in Portland, Oregon, United States. The event did not feature Russia. Following a WADA investigation into widespread and institutional doping practices ...

in 2:00.01. She concluded her competition with her first Olympic medal, a silver in the women's 800m in a time of 1:56.49, behind

Caster Semenya Mokgadi Caster Semenya OIB (born 7 January 1991) is a South African middle-distance runner and winner of two Olympic gold medals and three World Championships in the women's 800 metres. She first won gold at the World Championships in 2009 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Niyonsaba finished second in 800 meters seven race series of

2016 Diamond League The 2016 Diamond League was the seventh season of the annual series of outdoor track and field meetings, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The 2016 series saw three changes to the format. One of the two ...

. She improved her personal best to 1:56.24 at 2016

meet. In 2017, Niyonsaba earned a new personal best and national record at the Monaco Diamond League after winning the 800m there in a time of 1:55.47 on July 21. With this time, she was the World No. 1. heading into the 2017 World Championships in London. At the World Championships in London, she won a silver in the women's 800m in a time of 1:55.92. She led throughout the majority of the race, but Caster Semenya used her phenomenal final kick to pass the Burundian on the home stretch once again and win gold.

World Athletics ruling

In 2019, it was revealed that Niyonsaba was born with the 46,XY

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is disce ...

and an

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...

condition after her qualification for

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

women's competition was affected by the association's new regulations for athletes with XY differences of sexual development, testosterone levels above 5 nmol/L, and androgen sensitivity. Due to her stress fracture, Niyonsaba will have to miss the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon.

Achievements

International competitions

Circuit wins and titles

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

champion 5000 m:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

(1 – 800 m): Brussels () **

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

(3 – 800 m): Shanghai (), Eugene (WL ), Paris **

(2 – 800 m): Birmingham (MR), Lausanne **

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

(2 – 800 m): Stockholm, Lausanne () **

(2 – 800 m): Lausanne, Rabat **

Eugene (two miles, MR), Paris (3000 m, WL MR NR), Brussels (5000 m, WL NR), Zürich (5000 m) **

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

(2): Doha (3000 m, WL), Eugene (two miles, WL MR)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Niyonsaba, Francine 1993 births Living people People from Ruyigi Province Burundian female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes of Burundi Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists for Burundi Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Burundi World Athletics Championships medalists Intersex women Intersex sportspeople World Athletics Indoor Championships winners Sex verification in sports Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Diamond League winners