Egypt

Berlin, Germany - Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia looked as if he had left himself open to defeat in the 5000 metres, by doing the majority of the leading at too leisurely a pace, on the final, Day Nine of the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics. But Bekele obviously wanted to do it the hard way. He didn’t even try to wind it up with a kilometre to go, but left it ‘til the last lap, even the final 200 metres. Defending champion, and most experienced man in the field, Bernard Lagat had run cannily, and was poised on Bekele’s shoulder, with half a lap left. Lagat duly kicked past into the straight, but Bekele was equal to the challenge, and eased away to victory in 13:17.09, punching the air in an unprecedented display of satisfaction as he crossed the line. He had run the last lap in 53.81sec, and added the 5000m title to the 10,000m gold he won earlier in the week, the first man in championships history to double. Lagat won silver, to go with his 1500m bronze, in 13:17.33, and bronz...

Controversy and a lot of prurient interest exploded into the news this week when South African Caster Semenya outran her competition in the 800m world championships by a more than two second lead, only to be accused of cheating by being intersex. As an intersex person following this story, I've felt . . . well, largely appalled by what spews from the mouths of competitors, sport officials, news commentators, bloggers, and eyebrow waggling, head-shaking people on the street. It's hard not to feel depressed encountering innumerable snarky statements such as this one: "South African runner Caster Semenya (hehehe...she has semen in her name...hehehe) won the gold in the women's 800-meter at the World Championships in Berlin last night, but officials may snatch (peen, I mean, pun intended) away her victory if it turns out she's really a dude." (That one can be found here , if you're really inclined to read it.) So I wanted to share my perspective on this story....

Controversy and a lot of prurient interest exploded into the news this week when South African Caster Semenya outran her competition in the 800m world championships by a more than two second lead, only to be accused of cheating by being intersex. As an intersex person following this story, I've felt . . . well, largely appalled by what spews from the mouths of competitors, sport officials, news commentators, bloggers, and eyebrow waggling, head-shaking people on the street. It's hard not to feel depressed encountering innumerable snarky statements such as this one: "South African runner Caster Semenya (hehehe...she has semen in her name...hehehe) won the gold in the women's 800-meter at the World Championships in Berlin last night, but officials may snatch (peen, I mean, pun intended) away her victory if it turns out she's really a dude." (That one can be found here , if you're really inclined to read it.) So I wanted to share my perspective on this story....

By now, many people have heard of Caster Semenya. The 18 year-old South African runner first made the news for her stellar run in the African Junior Championships, but had her victory tainted by competitors who insisted that the IAFF, (the International Association of Athletics Federations), should test Semenya’s gender to see if she is 100% female, not just physically, but biologically Rather than a mere physical exam, where genitalia is the determining factor, the IAFF is calling for an months-long process of gender testing, involving several specialists and exhaustive testing. I find it disturbing that anyone, least of all an 18 year-old, would be subjected to forced gender testing in order to appease their competitors. It might be another matter if Semenya was a boy disguised as a girl in order to compete, but that’s not the accusation. Semenya was born and raised as a girl, and those in the position to know — her parents and a former roommate — attest that she does not have, and h...

Maybe it is bound back…nevertheless I see they are pulling out all the stops now. Comparing this circus with the Saartjie Baartman Circus, dragging in every word from “Apartheid”, “Colonialism”, “Racist”, etc…They just have to drag in the Nazi-invective and it will be complete. We just want the “Truth and the Proof” - The Semenya Ape Circus will now be performed in front of the United Nations. We do not want to hear opinions from Patricia De Lille, Butana Komphela, Leonard Chuene, the IAAF, the mother, the father, the grandmother, the aunt or who the fuck else…We want scientific proof. We are not interested in how fast it can run..we want to know if it is a MAN or a WOMEN? Bearing that in mind… DNA evidence can be fabricated At the end of the day, I suppose it is true what they say… the proof is in the pudding…EEUUWWHH! Compare the Michelle Obama Vulva with the Caster Semenya Vulva and form your own opinion. BTW, have you noticed the conspicious absence of Liberal White Bitches and Kaf...

Caster Semenya is making headlines after winning an 800-meter race in the World Championships in Berlin on Wednesday by 2.45 seconds more than the second-place athlete. The fact that the 18-year-old South African literally left her rivals in the dust during the competition has led some of them to accuse her of being a man. Both Italian runner Elisa Cusma Piccione and Russian runner Mariya Savinova made the accusation, the Los Angeles Times reported . Now, the International Assn. of Athletic Federations is requesting Semenya to take tests to determine if she’s indeed female. If found not to be, she would be barred from racing and stripped of her medals. The request has not only infuriated Semenya’s family but South African dignitaries as well. The L.A. Times printed a statement issued by the Young Communist League of South Africa, which supports Semenya.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8213421.stm