[Sports News] Is This a Man Or a Woman?

"Ok So i know the TITLE may seem harsh, but thats excatlly what the Athletics are asking.!!! But also i just think this is a shame and what an embarrasment for the Poor Teenager that won this Race in a Fast time...but i had to admit becuase of the whole speculation you do subconsiouly look at the runner for different reasons.(watch the clip ).either way its not for us to judge..or is it?? whats ya views..READ MORE ABOUT THE STORY BELOW:



Caster Semenya celebrates after winning 800m gold at the world championships in Berlin.

["Caster Semenya's gold medal in tonight's 800m should have been the proudest moment of the South African teenager's life. But for the athlete whose gender has been scrutinised the world over in the last 24 hours, it came as no surprise that she was advised to shun the media after her title-winning race.

As the cameras settled on the athlete who has lived her whole life as a female, onlookers pored over their TV screens, studying the woman now rumoured to be a man. Controversy has dogged the 18- year-old since she posted a world leading personal best time of 1 minute 56.72 seconds – an eight second improvement on her time last year – to win gold at the African Junior Championships in Mauritius last month. That's just 0.51 seconds slower than Kelly Holmes' career best.

Standing in lane four alongside Britain's diminutive Jenny Meadows – whose bronze medal was inevitably overshadowed by the hysteria tonight – Semenya's notably developed frame was further exaggerated. As the athletes took off, Semenya lead from the start, determined to ignore the media speculation and focus on her race. The gold medal winner never looked threatened and finished well ahead of the pack with a new personal best of 1:55.45.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) yesterday revealed that Semenya has been the subject of a gender verification process both in her native South Africa, and since she arrived in Berlin. The official investigation could take weeks to draw conclusions with an endocrinologist, a gynaecologist and a psychologist all involved.

Director of Communications, Nick Davies, was unable to say whether any retrospective action could be taken should Semenya be revealed to have issues surrounding her gender. "I can't say that if X happens in the future that we will, for example, retroactively strip results. It's legally very complex.

"It's a medical issue. It's not an issue of cheating. We're more concerned for the person not to make this something which is humiliating for her and something which is going to affect her in a negative way. This is why you will appreciate we have to be discreet. She is a human being who was born as a woman and who has grown up all her life as a woman but who is now in a position where this is being questioned."

Davies' words suggest that the IAAF are dealing with a sensitive case. Such situations are not altogether unusual in sport. Earlier this year, tennis player Sarah Gronert – a 22 year-old German competing on the WTA tour – had her gender questioned when it was revealed that she was born with both male and female genitalia. Gronert had surgery aged 19 and is now legally considered a woman. At the 1936 Olympics, in the same Berlin stadium, Stella Walsh won silver in the 100 yard dash. After her death, an autopsy revealed she possessed male genitalia as well as female characteristics.

Semenya's coach, Michael Seme, says he is well used to the commotion. He recalls stopping to use the facilities at a petrol station in Cape Town recently and as Semenya tried to enter the women's toilets, she was stopped by the petrol attendants. "Caster just laughed and asked if they would like her to take off her pants to show them she was a woman," he said."]
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