Chris Musumba
11 September 2009
Nairobi — Caster Semenya's running star is surely about to dim as fast as it ignited the world and catapulted the 18-year-old South African into international glory, earning her the world 800 metres gold medal on her first attempt in Berlin last month.
The Africa junior champion over the two-laps raised questions over her gender after he sheer dominance of the race in Berlin that saw her strike gold in a season's leading time of one minute, 55.45 seconds at the Olympic Stadium.
Media reports are now awash with claims that Semenya is, after all, a hermaphrodite with no womb or ovaries.
Australia's Sydney Daily Telegraph reported claims that Semenya also has internal testes, quoting a source at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
A hermaphrodite is someone who has some or all of the primary sex characteristics of both genders.
Dethroned Jepkosgei
However, the IAAF said from its headquarters in Monaco that it will make a ruling on the results of the gender tests on Semenya in November.
The South African dethroned Kenya's defending world champion Janeth Jepkosgei in Berlin following a sensational final-lap sprint to streak away from the rest of the competition.
Jepkosgei settled for silver while Britain's Jenny Meadows took bronze.
Ramifications of Semenya's gender controversy have had far reaching effects with the president of South Africa's track and field governing body, Leonard Chuene, resigning from his position as council member of the IAAF, protesting alleging racism against the controversial world champion.
South African politicians have also accused the IAAF of racism.
Butana Komphela, an African National Congress (ANC) MP, has lodged a complaint with the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights accusing the IAAF of racism and sexism.
But the Sydney Daily Telegraph quotes an IAAF source as saying the tests on Semenya have been "complicated."
"There are all sorts of scans you do. This is why it's complicated. In the past you used to do a gynecological exam, blood test, chromosome test, whatever," the newspaper quoted the source as saying.
"That's why the findings were challenged, because it's not quite so simple.
"So what they do now is they do everything, and then they can say look, not only has she got this, she's got that and the other. The problem for us is to avoid it being an issue now which is very personal: of the organs being a hermaphrodite, of not being a 'real' woman. It's very dramatic."
The IAAF received Semenya's gender test results on Thursday but said it would not reveal them for up to two weeks, once they had secured a chance to speak with the athlete.
IAAF spokesman, Nick Davies, said the results would only be made public once other experts had studied them and contacted Semenya personally.
The specialist tests were carried out in Germany and interpreted by a panel of experts drawn from the IAAF's medical commission and some outside specialists.
The Sydney Daily Telegraph claimed the tests show that Semenya has three times more testosterone than a normal female.
Italian runner Elisa Savinova, who came in sixth in Berlin, said people like Semenya should not be allowed to compete against women.
"For me, she is not a woman," Savinova was quoted as saying by the Sydney Daily Telegraph after the Berlin race.
Fans in South Africa have strongly defended Semenya amid claims by doubters that she won her medal unfairly because she was really a man.
The population has rallied behind 'Our Girl', hitting back at the accusations with further allegations of racism.
Last week, when questioned about the controversy by the South African magazine 'YOU', Semenya said: "I see it all as a joke. It doesn't upset me.
"God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I'm proud of myself. I don't want to talk about the tests. I'm not even thinking about them."
The IAAF will now have to decide on whether or not to strip Semenya of the gold medal she won in Berlin.
The likelihood is that Semenya will be allowed to keep the medal, but she looks certain to be disqualified from competing in future women's races.
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I think IAAF is hard on women, why don't they sometimes test the men that always come last in a race to see if they have an unfair DISADVANTAGE, It might happen those men are women competing with men. How many times is a man more than a women? After all you need to have an advantage over others to beat them especially the one you born with, The girl has a God given gift, it is not her fault the other ladies has no so called internal testes, they must ask from God He will give it to them, if not given they must just train hard, 3 times more than Caster since she is 3 times more than a women. GO CASTER GO you have my prayers. if you cant use your advantage to win, then you are not fit for the game. some basketball players are tallerr than others and they use that advantage, is that unfair?
I am profoundly disturbed and ashamed by the whole controversy created by the mass media and the IAAF because Caster Semenya is a black African. This is considered racial profiling and gender discrimination. If this incident involved someone from the West or Europe, they would have applied international and diplomatic tactfulness to ensure that the laws of confidentiality were guaranteed, protected, and upheld. But since nothing good could come from Israel, especially from from Africa and for her being a Black person, she does not deserve any courtesy in this respect.
However, let me refresh your minds about “Michael Phelps who is America's Golden Boy, but his recent partying has been less than medal-worthy. The 23-year-old Olympic champion, who has won a record 14 gold medals for swimming, spent a long weekend smoking weed and chugging booze like a college frat boy. And Star has the startling picture to prove that Michael — who has spent the months since his triumphs in Beijing living it up — is no stranger to marijuana! After this incident, he was caught again driving with an expired driver’s license with no actions taken against him. Had it being an Afro American or an African in the US by this time, he would currently be serving jail terms and all the medals taking away from him.
The issue of her sex and subsequent disclosure regarding of this information to the general public is the “invasion and intrusion” of her privacy in keeping with confidentiality agreements, HIPAA, and other privacy laws governing her contract.
Even if there were any doubt and suspicion surrounding her sex, the coach, parents, and the Government of South Africa should have been informed behind closed doors, and advise these people to secretly discuss this issue and then grant her leave of absence pending medical examination. The only message that would be contained in the press release is that Semenya has pulled out of the competition for health reasons.
But this was not done, IAAF and the press decided to broadcast this information live thus causing this great and ambitious lady a public disgrace, ridicule, and humiliation which also affected image of South Africa in particular and Africa in general.
My advice to Semenya’s family is to institute legal actions against the IAAF and the press agency that released the information to the public because it was very unprofessional to have released medical-related information without the consent of Semenya, her coach and family, and the Government and people of South Africa. But if the information was disclosed with the approval of the Government of South Africa, the legal suit should also include the Government.
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