Caster Semenya: Once a Victor, Twice a Victim

Australian Newspaper The Daily Telegraph has scooped the long awaited results of 800m World Champion, Caster Semenya's gender verification tests. According to the Telegraph she is a hermaphrodite.

It turns out that Semenya has no womb or ovaries and 3 times the testosterone of a 'normal' woman. On top of that, she has 'internal testes'  which produce testosterone in men. The Telegraph's source was quoted as saying that the South Africa Athletics Association (ASA) 'have known for months, for years, that she's not normal. They could have set in process these kind of tests if they had been more responsible.''. They do have explaining to do.

If this is true Semenya has been twice shamed, first by the IAAF's insensitive and public handling of the controversy and now the her own Nation's athletics authority that may have had the ability to protect from international media scrutiny and ridicule. No doubt, the South African Government which objected to the IAAF's approach to the allegations of sexism and racism, will be running feverish damage control and madly trying to wipe the egg that is squarely on its face.

This revelation comes after a spread in You South Africa presenting Semenya in very feminine fashion shots. But behind the concerns of gold medals and protocol is the apparent serious health concern for the athlete. She is apparently being urged to undergo corrective surgery as soon as possible.

Beyond even the medical concerns is what the cumulative effect of all the attention and the discovery of her physical ambiguity may be having on the 18 year old. Still more questions abound. Was Semenya aware of her ambiguity? Does this negate the concerns of sexism and racism (no doubt a rabid hatred of blacks did surface in the blogosphere)? Is the IAAF still guilty of impropriety in handling the publicity of the inquiry? And will the IAAF allow her to keep her gold medal? The really big question though: how did the results reach the media and who is this so-called 'leak'?

The answers will come. And if this report is to be trusted we can only hope that the strength Semenya has exhibited thus far will take her though the challenges ahead. 

Caster Semenya: Mixed a Gender?

The young 800 meter World Champion, Caster Semenya's gender has come into question and is currently being verified by the IAAF. In truth, on seeing her for the first time one can't help but notice just how masculine she is - she is very masculine in appearance. The querying of her gender is quite understandable. (Con't after picture)

BBC1 reporters and commentators repeatedly stressed how embarrassing and inappropriate the investigation was - they repeated it so often one had to wonder if they were really concerned about Semenya's dignity and privacy. The loss of the gold would mean a silver medal for Jenny Meadows, the hard-working Brit who placed third in the 800m final. When asked what other athletes thought about Semenya's gender, Meadow's diplomatic but evasive answer spoke volumes.

Michael Johnson acknowledged the need for the test but said that the IAAF was going about it all wrong. This is true - but so is the media. The extreme attention and copious expressions of sympathy come across as disingenuous - if not downright hypocritical. Would the very public airing of this very private matter, at the time it took place ever have happened if the media wasn't complicit? Instead of singing on the issue, why not downplay it and let the IAAF do its work?

Certainly the IAAF is doing what is has to do - but could it not have been done with even a modicum of discretion?

Johnson also noted that cheating was rife in the past 10 years, but with regards to doping - would the extreme of gender reassignment really be worth a gold medal? And in Semenya's case, it wouldn't have been a convincing reassignment (no disrespect meant). At least one athlete, Stella Walsh, a Polish Olympic medalist in the 1930's, was found to be hermaphroditic decades after her victories (upon her tragic death). That is not something for which she can be blamed. The point is that something as intimate as one's gender can have any number of complications that don't include the intervention of man. Semenya could be one such case - or simply a masculine looking female.

Kudos to Semenya herself who, at just 18, has risen to the top of her field despite almost getting herself and the former 800m world champion disqualified and then running under the fickle microscope of public opinion only to win confidently and convincingly. Good for her.

The results have yet to come out and may take weeks or months. But whatever happens it's too late to be discrete or sensitive about the situation. If there is some wrongdoing involved it might just be more than Semenya who is guilty of it.

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