Semenya sex row causes outrage in SA

Will SA stop whining please. The IAAF need to be challenged on the protocol followed, and nothing to do with stupid racist rant. Point is she won anyway, so they can do nothing about that.

I can't find a single motivation factor for a racist decision. This business of playing the race card at every oportunity is getting tiresome and stale. The officials were simply short-sighted notwithstanding the rules and extremely insensitive in method.
We must do our bit at home and receive and honour her as a champion. Stuff insensitive officials and nasty journos. They and their antics will come and go but Caster's achievemnet will stay with her ofrever.

Sue the bastards(IAAF) for the way they went about this issue

Good grief, come on SA athletics, you actually have a legitimate argument. Why did you have to go and ruin your credibility by pulling the race card? Didn't you receive The Race Card Handbook? Chapter 2: Pull the race card only when your case is not sound. And in this case you have every reason to object to how the IAAF has treated this matter. Please don't lose focus by twisting the issue in order to get misdirected pity.

If it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck....chances are its a duck. If someone manages to improve their time by nearly half a minute in a year the IAAF has every reason to figure out why and investigate. I dont see why this is embarrasing....come on: she definately has some male characteristics and I'm sure this is not the first time in her life she has had to ddeal with this kind of issue. SA Athletics should have done their homework and got all this testing out of the way before the IAAF came knocking, especially if they had her best interests at heart. But they didnt cover their bases and now its easier to start the blame game (pull out the trump card RACE) than admit maybe someone somewhere should have earned the money they claim for a salary and shown some initiative. Cant look further ahead than their own feet - well done SA Athletics!

To Joana and Jan...the IAAF did nothing wrong, the story was there on our television screen, the testing leaked to the media before IAAF officially declared it. The person who should be sued is SA Athletics for their negligence in taking care of the matter BEFORE, this is a new athlete without a long running career, looks manly, enters a woman's race and breaks the record. To me the testing is regular along with other drug tests imposed on all gold medalists, e.g. Usain Bolt. They have to make sure none of the athletes have an unfair advantage. I bet you all of you said, my god is that a woman???? not...Mutola had almost the same physic if not more manly but she was also expose to similar gender verification...So it's not about her or her race and country...it's about the competition...SA should have done their homework and they didn't...simple and straight forward...as Brenda Fassie sang...you don't need a ruler for this one...:-)

no one should be guilt until the contrary is proven. is it an inherent pre -requiste for the IAAF to subject one to this kind of test? What constitutes 'unfair biological advantage'? Are those displaying men like features [in this scenerio]also qualify as those who are having unfair advantages towards others?

On the other hand, this issue, of raising racist remarks without justification is a sign of backwardness in thinking.

It is humiliating to point at a girl and say "you look like a boy". Just add a gender test to all the steroid tests that they already do on all athletes. That way the humiliation element can be removed.

Bottom line, big grats to Semenya. You made black and white South Africans proud.

Pulling the race-card was not appropriate.
Even malema is jumping on the media bandwagon.

And the real bottom line, keep politics out of sports.

Well done Simenya

Lets face it, if it were anywhere else in the world there would have been nothing even mentioned about it. The more you bring up the subject the more the IAAF will protect their decision. Just let it become history.

There are question marks raised over the big margin by which she won. It is unusual and Caster does have characteristics that are not exactly found in the female population at large. Let the IAAF do their job. I am sure they also tested for performance enhancing drugs, again doing their job. To think that race has ANYTHING to do with this is immature.

I'm PROUD of you Caster Semenya.

we are all proud of Caster & hope that she has a long period of athletic victories ahead. But lets face it, she does look quite male - the IAAF are correct to do what they are doing irrespective of protocol, what if the shoe was on the other foot (no pun intended) ? In this age of massive rewards, people who will do anything to "win". The recent record is clear on this. Why the outrage ? Team Management & Caster herself should be proud of the opportunity to prove her detractors wrong. As for the race-card, that fool madala Malema will climb on any bandwagon for attention. You GO girl !!!

Gender testing started in the sixties and a number of Soviet and East German female athletes were disqualified for failing the test. So there is nothing racial in asking for a gender test. 5 of the 35 International Olympic sports federations still require gender tests – they are Basketball, Judo, Volleyball, Skiing and Weightlifting. There are two tests used to determine whether a competitor is indeed female,
a blood test to determine the testosterone level and a chromosome test to determine the number of x chromosomes – females have two, males have an x and a y chromosome. An athlete can have a female body but with the testosterone and y chromosome of a male which would result in a gruff voice, large muscle groups and increased speed and stamina.

Phantsi IAAF Phantsi!
I fully support the move(UN complaint) against the despicable and disgraceful IAAF actions meted out to Caster and the ASA.

Former athletes says it is unheard of for an athlete(even after you test positive after a 1st dope test, for ex.) to be publicly put under the sword as was done by the IAAF to Caster! How low can an international sports federation(which are there to advance the cause of ALL athletes) go to dehumanise an athlete hours before a final! It is unheard of. The strongest possible action should be taken by the authorities to defend the 18 year old against this shameful action on the part of the IAAF.

All serious people should also repudiate and ignore those who will use the episode to push their own obscure agendas(like a few idiots already on this thread!).

@ those on this thread who enjoy putting Caster down with nonsensical arguments – it is clear that you can’t adjust to the New SA. Your anger towards anything “black” or “government” shines glaringly through.

@ non-racialists – we will have to share these pages with the racists from all hues until a progressive moderation policy is implemented. This is the type of stories that the racists share around their braai’s. It is unfortunate that they are given the opportunity to spill their garbage on these pages. On the hand, it is good to know how they think!

This episode can also act as a learning curve to us all in terms of the debate around sexuality and the grey area of definitions and how/whether it is applied by sports bodies. It is clear that policies on gender should be debated wider than just sport federations.

From Cape Town

Such tests protect the integrity of athletics. If an SA athlete was denied a gold medal by, say, a masculine looking German who turned out to be a male we should rightly be applauding such tests. I earnestly hope that the tests come out in Caster's favour and put the matter to rest once and for all because if all the rant is just a cover up for dishonest behaviour, the consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate

Why are South Africans jumping up and down over this as if she is the first to be tested? This has happened many times before and it is a context that many South Africans are deliberately omitting to mention in their cries of racism. Get educated first; but it is no wonder that it is happening given the report that we have read that even a substantial number of university students in South African universities are illiterate.

What a sad story ! Caster Semenya has the support of all decent people from South Africa and the world, to get through all this!
It is a known fact that she worked hard for this result!
We are all proud not only of her but of all athletes, even of those who only try!
Irrespective of the outcome, the proportions of the media coverage and the comments of some politicians who try to score points, can only contribute to irreversibly harm her and create unnecessary tensions at different levels.
It is not the first time the IAAF goes through this painful process.
It is well known that this kind of allegations and the need for them to be cleared, brings a lot of suffering to the athletes involved and their families.
That’s why the primary responsibility for avoiding the misunderstandings lies with the professional national boards, who should clear the doubts before the competitions even begin, especially when they have been advised to do so.
In international competitions there are rules involving age, gender, weight, nationality, medical conditions, physical and mental abilities. Nothing about race!
During the history, the greed for medals which arises from political pressure, racism and nationalism, always for the wrong reason made some national boards to push innocent athletes into self destruction.
I’m afraid that soon, the Athletics South Africa will have to answer for the way they exposed this hard working athlete to so much psychological pressure. Not even to mention that they might have even ignored the case of a dreadful medical condition, which could endanger her life. Proper counseling and full medical testing should have been performed.
Unfortunately, their incompetence sparked a lot of unnecessary revolt and a lot of ignorant and malicious comments from all sides.
I would advise everybody to cool off their heads, wait for the outcome and eventually get more medical knowledge and proper information about the IAAF rules, definitions, history and especially the way this specific case got at this horrible stage.
To complain to the UN human rights commission is absolutely futile (actually there should be an apology!) and only hides the lack of accountability or at least understanding of the real issues and responsibilities from the Athletics South Africa side.
Claiming racism against an organization led by an African destroys the very spirit in which international sport brings humans together.

You are right Mukai, you are definetely not illiterate. I have just seen that a Spanish winner of the 1500 has been stripped of her medal for 'seemingly' pushing an Ethiopian co-runner to the ground. In most clips it is seen as she slipped and fell notwithstanding the general push and shove at these races. You will not believe some of the comments. Something like 'If we don't punish her it will be seen as if we are against the Ethiopian'. Another: 'The "offence" was dubious but there was no choice but rule in favour of the black girl' Others were equally barmy. So you see, the race card was also bandied around but in reverse. It's shocking and pathetic in itself but what is more shocking is the way these same people will play the race card again the next day after embarrassing themselves in public and not learning anything. By the way, the Ethiopian team, or any other, did not lodge any complaints about the incident so it was up to officious IAAF officials again. Racist twice in two days? I think not.

I totally agree with Jan Hofmeyr, hte IAAF should be sued. Think how this issue has broken Caster's spirit. Imagine how it must feel for people to make one aware that there is something wrong with ones physique. And as for the race thing, I have to say that only those who are racists themselves feel offended if racial issues are mentioned. I have not seen any pink or pale looking person being tested for their gender, yes I do see many whites looking gender challenged but I don't see them being tested.

Something to think about:

(1) What scientific legitimacy does the Athletics Body have to determine gender and in this case, femininity?
(2) How do we measure Semenya's femininity?
(3) What if she has a lot of male hormones in her but still has female genitalia: Is she still a woman?
(4) Is asking an athlete to prove their femininity racist?
(5) Are there global guidelines on determining femininity?

This world is a sick place. How do we unfcuk it?

How do we unfuck it you say.. We cant. Your questions are indeed relevant..We can add on like how she ended up at an international event.. Did we fail to make sure? Is her birth certificate wrong..etc Either way, the manner in which Imperialists handled this issue is despicable.. If they wanted to question her gender.. Do it silently in private, at the beginning of the tournament avoiding Public Humiliation.

What will happen if a male athlete looked like a Female.
Will the Athletics body say that "he" should be tested and if found to be a "FEMALE" then the male should now run in female races.
Its not a race issue but an issue where IAAF should get their house in order.
As fidel Castro said on the 2009-08-23, Are there guidleines on what classifies one to be female and one to be a male.
Further, Semenya has a legitimate South African ID document that proves her sex which is based on the information of her birth certificate.
Somebody did not like the idea that she won and started this issue and that person should be brought to book.

Kindest Regards

Eric Martinsich
Proud South African

I don't know why people have to make themselves look like morons by trying to pull the race card. That's a tactic for losers.

@Mukai Sithole who said " This has happened many times before and it is a context that many South Africans are deliberately omitting to mention in their cries of racism. Get educated first"

I second your comments. Very sensible.
On educating myself about this I see there have been many gender cases over the years, some of whom developed during the the Cold War when East Germans were pumping drugs into women, but there have been others clearly not drug related. This case needs to be sorted out for world sport BUT the first the world should have heard about it was either
- if and when her gender was queried, that the IAAF had put her through gender tests in the past, which she ahd passed
- that Semenya was withdrawing from IAAF events for personal UNSTATED reasons

This athlete has had to take stick from both South Africans and foreigners. To call this a race based issue is a lie and excuses everyone of their own bigotry. I find it laughable that the same people who dragged Ms Semenya into the toilets to inspect her gender when she was in high school are the same one's accusing the Europeans of repeating the Saartjie Baartman event. It is symptomatic of how South Africans really are- we take offence where there is none to justify our own prejudices.
I cannot believe how pathetic some people are, but then again, we have ample evidence of this trend, in the judiciary, in parliament, in sweetheart economic deals and in state-led redistribution of declining national wealth.
May God pity our wickedness.

Sister you make as proud.

Thabiso from *(USA)..

Where were SA's athletics bosses when Caster was subjected to crude tests of her gender by SOUTH AFRICAN athletics officials when she was taking part in events as a junior? This potential for her to be challenged did not start in 2009 - if SA Athletics did not know this was a potential drama they had not done their homework. Suddenly now none of the teachers who humiliated her as a schoolgirl will be anywhere to be found! (Will Julius Malema please follow this up?).

David Smith: "Her home village, Masehlong, is an isolated outpost in the bush, surrounded by miles of dry and dusty scrubland". You write like you are reporting from there, yet an announcer on SABC said he is from her place, and that it is a township adjoining Polokwane and is not "out in the bush". Which is the true version?

Lets just hope this is a watershed for the intelligent and tolerant South Africans amongst us, I know we are by far the majority, and want positive harmony, unlike the minority who prefer the pitchforks and lynching tactics of the past. May they become as irrelevant as they should be. May we never play victim again, seize the day, tolerate one and all, support our citizens with common sense and do like only a South African can do.

Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and Caster Semenya you did us proud :) Mayibuye Tolerance, Hamba the cry baby victims and Neo African Imperials!

Jan, she should rather sue the SA athletics body, they've known her, and about her, for a while already. It's good that the head honcho resigned, because his head should be called for if he didn't.

The questions are; would they have done the test if her perfomance was below par?..Is the female gender supposed to be weaker?..Would they thave done the 'gender test'(how can they stoop so low)if a western athelete had won?...It may not be racism and sexism at play here but then...what is it?...if it stinks like poo, it probably is!

Well done Caster Semenya - yet another reason why I am proud to be a South African!

Early reports emanating from the investigation into the incredible performance at the World Athletics Championships of Caster Semenya, the 18-year-old South African runner, suggest she has uncommonly elevated testosterone levels in her body for a female.

The analysis is believed to have been carried out in South Africa prior to the event in which Semenya won gold, the women’s 800 metres. Results showed that Semenya recorded levels of the male hormone that were three times over what is considered normal. The gender verification test, requested by the IAAF, was in part inspired by this knowledge.

It has also been revealed that the South African athletics team has recently been working with , the coach of East Germany when that country was involved in a systematic doping programme. Arbeit was head of throwing events from 1982-88 and chief coach from 1989-90. Dr Werner Franke, the German parliamentary investigator into the secret police files detailing East German drug abuse in sport, described Arbeit as ‘a major person responsible for the use of anabolic steroids’.

‘At the time he was coach there were plans of who should take how much drugs and how this should be co-ordinated,’ said Franke. ‘All this was his responsibility. The head coach was always involved in drug abuse. He did not give the pills but he is clearly in the chain of criminals because he was determining who should receive what. Whole tables of drugs have been published of throwers and what they took.’ Ekkart Arbeit


Heidi Krieger, an East German shot putter and gold medallist at the European Championships in 1986, blamed Arbeit for a programme of drugs so powerful that it left her with all the traits of manhood bar one. By 1997, she felt she had no choice but to correct that and underwent sex change surgery. She (he) now lives as Andreas Krieger.


I have seen a video of this on Norwegian tv - part of a series of exposes on the use of doping preparations in Eastern Europe before 1989 - they clearly show that Dr Ekkart Arbeit and her co-trainers were responsible for the ill-health and in some cases suicide of these athletes. Is it going to be a repeat performance here too?

The willful ignorance displayed in these comments is woeful. People have every right to be cross and offended by the way Semenya was treated. If it was some woman called Poppy Pretorius or Deborah Glanville being utterly humiliated in this fashion I suspect some of those 'there you go using the race card bunch' would be cross too. It is all about who you identify with and feel compassion towards. Who one considers to have dignity that must be preserved. I think your comments speak volumes about non blacks in South Africa, who seem largely stuck in a time warp. You are all still the generations suffering from apartheid hangover and you certainly show it.

If the rules of the IAAF require such testing in such circumstances, so be it. The athlete can choose to comply, or make protest/challenge or remove themselves from the competition. Those who should be looking after this young lady are to blame on this account including her coach, manager,and the South African sporting authorities. Let's not forget the revolting comments and innuendo made about Venus and especially Serena Williams. Exactly the same as are being made about Semenya, but with very different outcomes as the Williams sisters have a very capable manager who clearly would not allow such soddy treatment of his prodigies.

There is no reason why the testing had to be made public. Regardless of what the media said. 'The media' indulge in all sort of irresponsible and inaccurate reporting everyday, that doesn't mean that IAAF should follow suit. And to be quite frank the media got their story because the IAAF did not practice discretion. We would not be having this discussion if the IAAF kept their house, so to speak, in order. It is a disgraceful matter.