Caster Semenya – Gender Test

Canter Semenya - winner of the 800m final at the Berlin World Championships of Athletics 2009

The stage is set, were in Berlin, 800m of track lay ahead of the finalists, with the weight of their country on their shoulders, the buzzer marks the start of the race, and all runners take off in a sprint to the finish. It's for gold, silver and bronze, nothing else matters. When a young teenage woman crosses the line in first place by several lengths, it would start the most embarrassing call of arms ever seen in athletics history. Is the winner a female or male?

The one thing that defines this story is the pathetic portrayal of events by the officials in charge of the race. They have not only failed to identify a need for secrecy and public decency, but also the mental destruction of a young athlete. Its always been said that the first loser is the first to complain, and its once again taken precedence. This runner has had to qualify to get to the final, and it seems as though no one was asking questions then. They probably figured she wouldn't win, and therefore whats the harm in letting her race. But there is harm in realising she won, and asking to prove her gender due to some male resemblance in her appearance.

This same sort of row occurred when Amelie Mauresmo took to the tennis world stage in 1993. Once again nobody said anything until she climbed the rankings to number one in 2004. Then the world asked if she was a woman. Pathetic. Women and men are not all the same and through the complexities of nature, some are born with the genes that will later in life come back to haunt them. Its a cruel world, but an even more cruel world stage. Because thats where these sportspeople choose to excel and that's where they are cut down.

This girl, and of which I believe she is, will suffer because of this, mentality, physically and her family will also see this strain first hand. Imagine someone asking you what gender you were. Imagine how that might feel, for them to ask if you are cheating by playing in a slower gendered race.

If they force her to do a test, I can see the outcome being one of remorse, embarrassment and shame. There is no way the officials, public and most of all media will ever be able to say sorry enough.