
Caster Semenya's gold medal in the women's 800 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin should have been the proudest moment of the South African teenager's life. Should have been. The International Association of Athletics Federations revealed the teenage track phenom has been the focus of a gender verification process both in her native South Africa and since she arrived in Berlin.
At least two of the seven runners who lost to Caster Semenya are convinced she is not a woman, and track and field’s international governing body has launched an investigation into the 18-year-old’s gender.
Semenya, an unknown before she ran a blistering time at the Africa Junior Championships three weeks ago, did not speak to media after the race. An interview sheet distributed by the International Assn. of Athletics Federations said “no comment available,” and Pierre Weiss, the IAAF’s general secretary, appeared in her place at a news conference because officials determined Semenya was unprepared to face a barrage of questions.
The controversy is focused around the track sensation's "strikingly muscular physique" and impressive speed. The teenager from Polokwane in South Africa's Limpopo province posted 1:55.45 at last night's 800 final in Berlin. That's the 13th fastest time in history and several competitors doubt her gender.
"There
are people who shouldn't compete with us," sixth-place finisher Elisa Cusma Piccione of Italy told journalists, reports the Los Angeles Times. "She is not a woman, she is a man. We let people win
medals, and they don't deserve it." The fifth-place finisher, Mariya Savinova of Russia, "made similar comments, according to Russian media who interviewed her."
Gender verification is described as "extremely complex", could "take weeks" to
draw conclusions and the team includes an endocrinologist, a gynecologist and a
psychologist, CNN reports. That's in addition to chromosome testing.
South African athletics officials are outraged and say Caster Semenya is "definitely" female. SA athletics fans have posted hundreds of comments on television and newspaper websites, with some claiming the speculation was racially motivated.
Controversy as Semenya Wins 800M [CNN]
Questions Raised About Gender [LAT]