Caster Semenya Withdraws From Race

Video: Semenya media reports slammed - ITN NEWS

Due to speculation about her gender, gold medalist, Caster Semenya, has withdrawn from competition, over a leaked report in the Sydney Morning Herald, alleging she is a hermaphrodite.

The 18-year-old female runner has been subjected to a maelstrom of criticism, regarding her athletic prowess, which many are attributing to male and female genetic factors.

It's sad that she has withdrawn, as she is a great athlete, but there is a legal angle in this controversy, which could create court case, after court case and a mountain of legal fees. This is undoubtedly a concern.

Cheer up, girl! You are still number one!

Caster Semenya Withdraws From Competition Amid Speculation

Published: September 11, 2009 - JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Caster Semenya, the world champion runner from South Africa, has withdrawn from a weekend race amid speculation about her sex.

The South African Press Association quoted her coach, Michael Seme, as saying Semenya would not take part in the 4,000 meters at the national cross country championships in Pretoria on Saturday. He had said earlier this week that Semenya would run.

Asked Friday why Semenya withdrew, Seme said she was “not feeling well.”...

http://www.nytimes.com

Semenya Will Keep Gold Medal

South African runner, Caster Semenya, will be allowed to keep her gold medal from the 800 meter race she won last month at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany. Good for her.

A gender test was requested after initial tests caused alarm, due to the increased levels of testosterone in her system. If it is due to a genetic anomaly, she clearly did not cheat.

Semenya does have masculine features, but judging by pictures of her as a young girl, she has always been strapping and very toned.

Becoming an athlete at a young age served to bring out those features even more. Therefore, it does not appear she tried to cheat to win the race. She did also pass the steroids test.

Further investigation into her background revealed, she is a woman who has been scorned for most of her life, labeled too manly and for once, after causing her much heartbreak, it has worked in her favor.

Blacks from some parts of Africa tend to be more muscular and taller than other Africans. Even during the slave trade, slave masters noticed this fact (i.e. the Maroons in the Caribbean). Much like Vikings were often taller and more muscular than other Anglo-Saxons.

From clamour to glamour: Semenya sets the agenda of a real golden girl

September 9, 2009 - South Africa, has had a second significant victory after the IAAF confirmed yesterday that she would not be stripped of her gold medal whatever the results of her gender test.

Semenya, who won the title in Berlin last month, has also made a resounding statement about her femininity by posing for a glamour photoshoot in a glossy national magazine...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

Chris Brown vs. Oprah

Chris Brown Has Taken On The O

Chris Brown: Oh no she didn't!

Girlfriend beater, Sony Music's Chris Brown, recently spoke out against talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, for a special she did on domestic violence, concerning the singer, who beat up his girlfriend Rihanna, in response to an attack from her.

Brown stated he has done favors for Oprah, such as singing at her school in Africa. Therefore, for her to look at the incident in the manner she did, proclaiming it a one-sided domestic violence issue, rather than stating she should help both of them was, "A slap in the face."

First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey and U.S. President Barack Obama

"I commend Oprah on being like, 'This is a problem,' but it was a slap in my face. I did a lot of stuff for her, like going to Africa and performing for her school. She could have been more helpful, like, 'Okay, I'm going to help both of these people out.' - Chris Brown

"Oprah is very appreciative that Chris Brown performed at her school but she takes domestic abuse very seriously. She hopes he gets the counseling he needs." - Oprah spokesperson

Rihanna

Frankly, you opened yourself up to that in not controlling your temper and beating Rihanna back. You have been painted the villain and that is now your image.

Oprah denounced Chris Brown stating, once a beater always a beater, but I do think people can change. However, I'm certainly not vouching for Brown, as I do not know him, but think he lacks character and not just in the Rihanna incident. Neither Chris or Rihanna are decent people, as the public will soon find out.

Caster Semenya Receives Hero's Welcome

800 meter gold medalist, Caster Semenya, received a heroes welcome in South Africa today, after dismantling the competition at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany. Winnie Mandela hugging Caster Semenya Semenya won by such a wide margin that when she crossed the finish line, it appeared as though she was running the race by herself, as the other athletes were barely in the frame. It was an outstanding performance. Because she won the race by the widest margin of any athlete at the games, she has been met with significant suspicion in the press, due to reports her gender is in question. Caster Semenya The IAAF ordered full gender tests, after a preliminary test discovered the levels of testosterone in Semenya's system, is three times greater than the average woman (that's still ten times less than Madonna). The additional tests will determine if a genetic anomaly created the elevated testosterone levels.

Caster Semenya's Gender Questioned

Caster Semenya

South African sprinter, Caster Semenya, is facing massive scrutiny after winning the 800 meter run, at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Caster has been forced to take a gender test, administered by a team of doctors, due to her very muscular appearance, pectorals, 6-pack/8-pack stomach, a visible Adams apple and slight bulge at the genital area. In an ironic twist, the first five letters of her name spell the word "semen."

Clearly, she passed the steroids tests, otherwise she would not have been allowed to participate. However, officials seek to determine if she is a man or a woman with genetic male traits that give her an unfair advantage.

Some in South Africa believe statements about her have been xenophobic and racist, because she is not an American.

Respectfully, as a Jamaican black woman, when I first saw her photo, I immediately realized what the controversy was about, as she does exhibit masculine traits and she also has a male swagger.

That statement is not meant to be insulting, but truthful. Not to mention, it has been reported, that even in South Africa, her teacher, bathroom attendants and others, for years have thought she was a man.

It maybe due to a genetic occurrence that caused her to posses both male and female characteristics, which strenuous workouts to build strength and stamina, have accentuated. Pilates would counter that to reduce confusion.

People are also asking questions, because in the past, two European men, who were white (only mentioning that due to the racial claims with Semenya) posed as women and won gold medals that were later revoked.

Women are considered the weaker sex and it really is not very competitive overall, to have men sprinting against women. Therefore, it is a very delicate subject, but it must be addressed in the interest of fairness.

Regardless of the outcome of the gender tests, which are expected in a few weeks, Semenya is an extraordinary athlete, who put on a fine performance. Congrats on your win, as it was very impressive.

Semenya humiliated, says SA athletics chief

Thu Aug 20, 2009 4:56pm GMT - BERLIN (Reuters) - The gender controversy surrounding South Africa's teenage 800 metres world champion Caster Semenya has been humiliating for her, the country's athletics chief said on Thursday.

Semenya's rapid improvement over the past year, in which she has shaved more than eight seconds off her personal best in the two-lap race, prompted the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to order a gender test.

"I will continue to defend the girl, I will continue to do anything, even if I am to be kicked out of Berlin, Germany, but I am not going to let that girl be humiliated in the manner that she was humiliated because she has not committed a crime whatsoever. Her crime was to be born the way she is born," said Athletics South Africa president Leonard Chuene.

"And now people are not happy, and on that basis she is isolated like a leper, like she has got a disease that will affect other people, and I don't think it's proper," he told Reuters Television.

Powerfully built but smooth running, the 18-year-old Semenya clocked one minute, 55.45 seconds for the year's fastest time and a personal best by more than a second to win gold in the 800 on Wednesday, hours after the IAAF said the procedure for gender testing had started...

http://af.reuters.com