Hermaphrodite Runner May Get To Keep Gold Medal
18-year-old South African runner Caster Semenya may get to keep her medals despite reports by an Australian media outlet that confirms she has both male and female organs.
According to a report in the AP, The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) won’t release the official results of gender testing until November.
The IAAF ordered a battery of gender tests on Semenya — including a CT scan — after Semenya dominated a race prior to entering the Berlin World championships, and IAAF officials had a chance to view videos and images of her physique.
An Australian newspaper reported the test findings on Friday, which indicate Semenya has no ovaries, only a vaginal pouch and internal male testicles (where her ovaries should be), which are producing 3x’s the normal amount of the male hormone testosterone in her blood.
The extra testosterone gives Semenya her secondary male sex characteristics such as facial hair, a ripped muscular physique and deep voice.
“We would like to emphasize that these should not be considered as official statements by the IAAF,” the federation said in a statement regarding the reports that first appeared in News Limited and Fairfax newspapers.
The IAAF went on to say Semenya would likely keep the gold medal she won at Berlin because there was no cheating or deception involved.
“Our legal advice is that, if she proves to have an advantage because of the male hormones, then it will be extremely difficult to strip the medal off her, since she has not cheated,” Davies wrote to the AP.
But experts say Semenya’s stellar track & field career may be over due to her unfair advantage over the other women. Online reports indicate that other female runners may refuse to enter races that she is in.
6 Responses to “Hermaphrodite Runner May Get To Keep Gold Medal”
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FOUND HIM. i was just asking someone the other day whatever happened to HITZ from bet.
I don’t think it would be fair to have her give the medals back. She is just discovering who she is along with the rest of the world. Some ppl want their 15 minutes of fame. I say leave her alone, she did not ask for any of this negative attention.
LOL @ pointhimout. Shem does look like Hitz!!!
I knew it!!!! Shem was just a little too manly.
Good luck to her.
I don’t know how she is going to get through this humiliation.
I feel so sorry for this young lady. And to find out like this, just horrifying. They should not take her medals away from her, she didn’t know her status and wasn’t being dishonest. But I don’t see how she can fairly continue competing in women’s events, she will have an edge on the other contestants. There needs to be a concerted effort to make sure she has an education and marketable skills so she will be able to support herself outside of active competition. Oh and she needs a lot of love and therapy. My heart goes out to her, and her family, this is sad.