South African 800m Gold Medallist Asked To Take Gender Test
Caster Semenya
Millions of people are tuning in to the 2009 World Championships in Athletics which are being held in Berlin, Germany. The world class athletes, the world records and the medals are being over shadowed by the doubts over the gender of one of the competitors.
Caster Semenya won the sought after gold medal in the 800m days ago on August 19th 2009 in the women’s race, but Semenya has been told she must undergo a drugs test over doubts she was once a man. She was told she had to face a test after about her gender three weeks ago after the African Junior Championships. The athlete’s muscularly physique and deep voice have only fuelled the rumours.
The allegations have been vigorously denied by the South African team, the team Semenya runs for. The manager of the South African team, Phiwe Mlangeni-Tsholetsane said: "There was no cheating. We entered her as a woman and want to keep it that way."
Other people quick to deny the rumours were the parents and the sister of the running star, calling these allegations "unfair" and not true. It is reported that Semenya took three months off earlier in the season and started to smash personal bests and records since, leading people to believe that instead of suffering from an injury the gold medal winner was undergoing a sex change. The results of the test have yet to be confirmed.
