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Retired American track and field star Carl Lewis says South African athletics authorities have "let down" Caster Semenya, 18, amid the row over her sex. The newly crowned 800m world champion has had medical tests following doubts about whether she is actually female. Athletics' world governing body (IAAF), demanded the test three weeks before the World Championships and Lewis says Semenya should have been withdrawn. "The South African federation should have dealt with it," said Lewis. The IAAF said the teenager was first asked to undergo a gender test after she posted a world leading time of one minute, 56.72 seconds at the African junior championships in July. To put it out in front of the world like that, I am very disappointed in them because I feel that it is unfair to her Carl Lewis The test was never conducted and Semenya was allowed to compete at the World Championships in Berlin. However, the South African athletics federation denied there were concerns ...

Semenya , who won the women's 800-meter title at last month's world championship in Berlin, has had a gender test, and the results given to track and field's ruling body were leaked to Australian newspapers. Former IAAF medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist would not comment specifically on the Semenya case, but he cautioned that a person's gender is not always easy to define. "There is no simple, single lab test that can tell if you are a man or a woman. It is not black and white," Ljungqvist told The Associated Press by phone Friday from Sweden. "A person who carries a legal certificate showing that he is a man or a women, then they are a man or a woman." Semenya comes from a poor village in rural South Africa and first drew attention when she won the 800 title at the African junior championships. With her muscular build and deep voice, more questions were raised at the world championships. The International Association of Athletics Federat...

The results of the gender tests run on South African runner Caster Semenya are in, but the International Association of Athletics Federation refused today to confirm or deny reports that the 18-year-old medal winner belongs to a gender category known as intersex -- in other words, that she may possess both male and female biological features. var playerSwf = new SWFObject("/assets/flash/mediaplayer/EmbedPlayer.swf", Share Chris Cuomo anchors a recap of "Good Morning America." Speculation over the results have given rise to media reports using the term "hermaphrodite" -- a label that is falling out of use within the medical community due to its offensive and often inaccurate nature. The IAAF said in a statement that it won't release the results of its gender tests on Semenya until November. "We can officially confirm that gender verification test results will be examined by a group of medical experts," the organization said. "No decisi...

PRETORIA, South Africa — Caster Semenya had heard the taunts and whispers – that she was different from other girls. Now the most intimate details of her anatomy are headline news, and there is worry about how the 18-year-old runner from a poor South African village will handle it all. Two Australian newspapers reported Friday that gender tests show the world champion athlete has no ovaries or uterus and internal testes that produce large amounts of testosterone. The international sports federation that ordered the tests wouldn't confirm the reports. The International Association of Athletics Federations, which ordered the gender tests, refused to confirm or deny the reports. In a statement, the IAAF said it is reviewing the test results and will issue a final decision in November. South African Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile expressed horror at the handling of the affair and insisted Caster is female. "We think her human rights have been violated and her privacy invaded,...

It's been a week of change for Caster Semenya, the South African runner at the center of a gender controversy at last month's world track championships. First, one of her South African coaches quit the team in shame for not telling Semenya that she was being subjected to gender tests. (Semenya had thought she was taking a doping test.) Then, Semenya appeared on the cover of South Africa's You magazine with a complete makeover designed to silence critics who insist she is a man. For the shoot Semenya sported a less ambiguous hair style, a designer black dress, jewelry, makeup and nail polish. Despite what you think about the whole situation, it's safe to say that this is the first time that Semenya has truly looked like an 18-year old woman. She says she likes the look too. Semenya told the BBC: "I'd like to dress up more often and wear dresses but I never get the chance. I am who I am and I'm proud of myself." Let's hope this is what she wants th...

Caster Semenya, the 18-year old at the center of one of the biggest gender scandals in sports history, withdrew from a weekend race in South Africa amidst unconfirmed reports that her gender tests have revealed that she has both male and female sexual organs. She was scheduled to compete in the 4,000 meters at the national cross country championships in Pretoria. Semenya's coach, Michael Seme, says his runner "isn't feeling well". Yesterday, unsubstantiated reports from Australia and England said that Semenya's tests showed that she has no womb or ovaries and produces testosterone levels three times higher than a normal woman. The IAAF thinly denies the reports . (The organization's spokesman says he hasn't "seen" the results, which doesn't mean he hasn't "heard" the results. Nor has the IAAF come out and said that the reports are false.) The Today Show aired a report on the Semenya situation this morning: It's another c...

South Africa's Caster Semenya has been at the centre of rumours since winning gold [AFP]The IAAF – International Association of Athletics Federations – has confirmed it has received the results of gender tests on South African runner Caster Semenya, but is still reviewing them and will not issue any final decision until November. The IAAF did not confirm or deny Australian newspaper reports that the recently crowned women's world 800 -metre champion has male and female sexual organs. The Australian newspaper reported in its Friday edition that medical reports on the 18-year-old Semenya indicate she has no ovaries, but rather has internal male testes, which are producing large amounts of testosterone. Staying quiet "We would like to emphasise 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. "We can officially confirm that...

Tests on South Africa's 800m world champion Caster Semenya are likely to show that she has an inter-gender condition, BBC Sport understands. Semenya, 18, was asked to take gender tests following her rapid rise to prominence in 2009 and just hours before she won the title in Berlin. The IAAF has the results but wants them examined before speaking to Semenya. BBC Sport's Gordon Farquhar said: "It's likely that she has some hermaphroditic or inter-gender condition." An Australian newspaper has claimed that Semenya is a hermaphrodite - someone who has some or all of the primary sex characteristics of both men and women. GORDON FARQUHAR'S BLOG How and who should decide in these cases whether the person be considered a woman or a man? The reports have sparked an angry reaction in South Africa. Sports minister Makhenkesi Stofile insisted on Friday: "Caster is a woman, she remains our heroine. We must protect her." South Africa's athletics president Leo...

Kenya’s own Janeth Jepkosgei lost the recent 800 metres race at the World Championships in Berlin to Caster Semenya of South Africa. Kenyans seem to be waiting for the answer to the question, “Is Miss Caster Semenya a woman?” If the answer is in the negative then our own Jepkosgei gets the gold medal. I want to urge Kenyans to simply go beyond the gold medal and bring the Semenya controversy close to home. How do we deal with our Semenyas in various fields of excellence? Shall we disown them or glorify them? If Semenya is intersex – has sex organs of both gender – is the IAAF going to make a scientific decision or a social decision? Who has the right to determine her gender if she is intersex and has decided she is a woman? Does this issue not tell us that we are dealing with a complex issue, may be the end of gender as we know it? Three interesting books deal with personal stories of people who are intersex, who went through operations and became either men or women or simply transg...

Google Blogs Alert for: Semenya andson allen: South African athlete Semenya faces gender probe ... By andson allen South African athlete Semenya faces gender probePerthNowThe issue first arose at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles when Stella Walsh (born Stanislawa Walasiewicz) won gold in the women's 100m sprint. ...and more » ... Coach: Gender Tests Not Explained To Semenya - Sports News Story ... JOHANNESBURG -- A South African track coach has resigned, saying Monday that he and other officials failed a world champion runner by not telling her she was being subjected to tests to determine her sex. Monday, September 7, 2009.

The case of South African athlete Caster Semenya has sparked worldwide interest following reports that she will be tested by sporting officials to determine whether she is male or female. Semenya celebrates her gold, which came just hours after the IAAF called for a gender test on the athlete. The 18-year-old won gold in the 800 meters race Wednesday but she may be forced to return the medal if she fails a gender-verification test imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). According to media reports, the IAAF are testing to see whether Semenya has a rare genetic disorder that means she has female genitalia but male chromosomes. This condition, known as intersex, is commonly referred to as hermaphroditism. (Some support groups say that the term "hermaphroditism" can be inaccurate and offensive, as it implies that someone is both fully male and fully female, which is a physiologic impossibility.) According to the Intersex Society of North America ...

The Gender Persecution Of Caster Semenya By gaylife Some reacted to Semenya's victory as expected: singing, dancing, and horn-blowing from fellow South-Africans as she arrived in Johannesburg following the race. Others met her with disbelief and disgust. "Just look at her," Russian ... About Gay Life - http://gaylife.about.com/b/ Pam's House Blend:: Thursday Evening This & That: Open Thread By Autumn Sandeen "Christian" athletic group 4 WINDS's Statement on Woman's 800 Meters Gold Medalist Caster Semenya's Sex Investigation: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the ex-wife of former President Nelson Mandela, said that people do not have the right to ... Pam's House Blend - Front Page - http://www.pamshouseblend.com/ Crowds Greet Gold Girl - modernghana.com/sports news AFP news agency quoted her uncle, Ben Semenya, as saying: "Caster is a girl... I am not worried about that too much. Caster is like my child. I know where she comes from. For ...