Is She a He? Athlete Forced to Take Gender Test

[Dos Equis]

 

Is She a He? Athlete Forced to Take Gender Test
Thursday, August 20, 2009 

AP


Aug. 19: Caster Semenya celebrates after winning the gold medal in the final of the Women's 800m in Berlin.
A South African teenager will be forced to take a test to prove she is a woman after storming to victory Wednesday in the 800-meter sprint at the world championships.

Caster Semenya's dominating run, which she won by a massive 2.45 seconds, came on the same day track and field's ruling body said she was undergoing a gender test because of concerns she does not meet requirements to compete as a woman.

About three weeks ago, the international federation asked South African track and field authorities to conduct the verification test. Semenya had burst onto the scene by posting a world-leading time of 1:56.72 at the African junior championships in Maruitius.

Her dramatic improvement in times, muscular build and deep voice sparked speculation about her gender. Ideally, any dispute surrounding an athlete is dealt with before a major competition. But Semenya's stunning rise from unknown teenage runner to the favorite in the 800 happened almost overnight. That meant the gender test — which takes several weeks — could not be completed in time.

Before the race, IAAF spokesman Nick Davies stressed this is a "medical issue, not an issue of cheating." He said the "extremely complex" testing has begun. The process requires a physical medical evaluation and includes reports from a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, internal medicine specialist and gender expert.

South Africa team manager Phiwe Mlangeni-Tsholetsane would not confirm or deny that Semenya was having such a test.

"We entered Caster as a woman and we want to keep it that way," Mlangeni-Tsholetsane said. "Our conscience is clear in terms of Caster. We have no reservations at all about that."

Although medals will be awarded for the 800, the race remains under a cloud until the investigation is closed, and Semenya could be stripped of the gold depending on the test results, IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss said.

"But today there is no proof and the benefit of doubt must always be in favor of the athlete," Weiss said.

Semenya's rivals said they tried not to dwell on the issue before the race.

"I've heard a lot of speculation, but all I could do was just keep a level head and go about my business," Meadows said. "If none of it's true, I feel very sorry for her."

One thing not in doubt was Semenya's outstanding run.

"Nobody else in the world can do that sort of time at the moment," Meadows said. "She obviously took the race by storm."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,540921,00.html?test=latestnews

[body88]

Owned

[Dos Equis]

 

Caster Semenya's testosterone levels are off the charts
August 25, 6:58 PMNY Celebrity Fitness and Health ExaminerSamantha Chang
 
South African runner Caster Semenya has elevated testosterone levels, tests show.
The 18-year-old is now undergoing an exhaustive gender verification test. (AP Photo)South African runner Caster Semenya has three times the level of testosterone in her body as a "normal" female does, according to the results of a preliminary test she took several weeks ago.

Semenya, 18, is at the center of an international debate concerning her gender. Two weeks before Caster competed at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin, she was asked to undergo a gender verification test over concerns that the muscular, husky-voiced runner was really a man.

On Aug. 19, Caster crushed her competitors when she won the 800-meter finals at the world championships in 1:55.45, which is the fastest time in the world this year for a female. After her rivals accused her of being a man, Semenya was asked by the IAAF, the world governing body for track and field, to undergo an exhaustive gender test by a team comprised of a gynecologist, endocrinologist, internal medicine expert, an expert on gender and a psychologist.

The IAAF is now trying to determine whether Semenya's abnormally high testosterone levels are due to doping or to her being naturally born more biologically male than female. So far, there's no suggestion Semenya has ever used performance-enhancing drugs.

However, Caster's association with Dr. Ekkart Arbeit, the former East German doping expert, has fueled suspicions of cheating. And doctors say Semenya's testosterone levels are suspicious.

"Athletes' [testosterone] levels are usually not high," Dr. Michael Elstein, an expert in hormone therapy tells the Daily Telegraph. "If anything, they actually may be low because of the stress of competition and release of cortisol, which is a stress hormone and can push testosterone down."

Adds Elstein: "It does not point to her being a male, but it does point to her advancing her performance with testosterone. The question is whether the testosterone is naturally occurring or introduced...that's what the IAAF needs to determine.''

Meanwhile, Caster's family insists she is female. “She is my little girl," says her dad, Jacob Semenya. "I raised her and I have never doubted her gender. She is a woman and I can repeat that a million times.”

http://www.examiner.com/x-14380-NY-Celebrity-Fitness-and-Health-Examiner~y2009m8d25-Caster-Semenya-testosterone-off-the-charts

[gordiano]

Owned

HAHAHAHA!

[Parker]

HAHAHAHA!

So a whole bunch of testing, just ask to have pants pulled down. Either a cocka or a nocka...

[Beefjake]

At Soul olympics two Asian women were determined to be male by DNA test. They both had kids.

A female scandinavian cross counry skier was forced to take a gender test. Her 3 years old and 7 months old kids were waiting in the next room.

[pedro01]

At Soul olympics two Asian women were determined to be male by DNA test. They both had kids.

A female scandinavian cross counry skier was forced to take a gender test. Her 3 years old and 7 months old kids were waiting in the next room.

Very interesting. I would say that regardless of what any DNA/hormone test says, if you have had children - you are a chick.

This tells me that the tests are wrong. Possession of a womb & ovaries should qualify you as a woman in my opinion.

[Dos Equis]

Report: Champion Runner Has Both Female, Male Sexual Characteristics
Friday, September 11, 2009 
Reuters

Gender tests conducted on 18-year-old track sensation Caster Semenya have determined that the South African woman has both male and female sexual characteristics, Australia's Daily Telegraph is reporting.

Semenya blew away the competition at last month’s IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Berlin. But the runner's stunning times, coupled with her muscular build and deep voice, led many to question whether she was, in fact, a woman.

The International Association of Athletics Federations, the governing body of international track and field, ordered gender tests on Semenya that involved a physical medical evaluation and reports from a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, internal medicine specialist and gender expert.

The Telegraph, citing an unidentified source, reported that they indicate that Semenya is intersex, with both male and female sexual characteristics. The tests reportedly show that Semenya has no uterus or ovaries, and that she has three times more testosterone than a normal woman.

A source closely involved with the IAAF tests said Semenya had internal testes — the male sexual organs that produce testosterone, according to the Telegraph.

According to the National Institutes of Health, intersex, once referred to as hermaphroditism, is a group of conditions where there is a discrepancy between the external genitals and the internal genitals (the testes and ovaries).

Alison Redick, assistant professor of women's studies and a medical historian at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y., said this is the kind of case that poses the question: What standards are we using for sex and gender?

“Given that testosterone is not an exclusively male hormone — both male and female bodies produce testosterone and estrogen — where do we draw the line?” Redick asked. “And trying to draw that line is always going to be a problem, regardless of what someone’s biology indicates.”

As of Friday, The IAAF refused to confirm or deny the reports and said it is reviewing the test results and will not issue any final decision on her gold medal until November at their meeting in Monaco.

Semenya's father, Jacob, expressed anger when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday, saying people who insinuate his daughter is not a woman "are sick. They are crazy."

Gender testing used to be mandatory for female athletes at the Olympics, but the screenings were dropped in 1999. One reason for the change was that not all women have standard female chromosomes.

There are also cases of people who have ambiguous genitalia or other congenital conditions. The most common cause of sexual ambiguity is congenital adrenal hyperplasia, an endocrine disorder where the adrenal glands produce abnormally high levels of hormones.