Nick Davies a spokesman for the IAAFD said that the parties are in the process of ending complex negotiations, they are “almost there”. Davies said all questions would not be resolved though during a meeting of IAAF’s ruling council in Monaco, which began on Friday.

It is still up in the air about any decision on whether or not IAAF will allow Caster Semenya to keep the 800 meter world title and prize money ($60,000 US dollars from Berlin) that she won back in August and maintaining privacy over gender testing results.

She is still eligible at tis time to keep the title and the prize money. The issue that is being resolved said Nick Davies is whether there is anything that will hinder her competing in races in the future.

Nick Davies a spokesman for the IAAFD said that the parties are in the process of ending complex negotiations, they are “almost there”. Davies said all questions would not be resolved though during a meeting of IAAF’s ruling council in Monaco, which began on Friday.

“We are not in the position at the moment to confirm 100 per cent, what was announced yesterday by the South Africans,” said Nick Davies in an interview Reuters.

“We are still discussing and hopefully we will have a resolution soon.”
It is still up in the air about any decision on whether or not IAAF will allow Caster Semenya to keep the 800 meter world title and prize money ($60,000 US dollars from Berlin) that she won back in August and maintaining privacy over gender testing results.

She is still eligible at tis time to keep the title and the prize money. The issue that is being resolved said Nick Davies is whether there is anything that will hinder her competing in races in the future.

The media has been boiling around the latest news on Caster Semenya and the results of her sex tests. She is a hermaphrodite, which refers to the combination of female and male sexual organs.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has yet to confirm these results, however, whoever has watched Semenya run knows that her body, not only her abilities, do not immediately resemble that of a woman’s. So the question is, when these results do become confirmed, what will become of Caster Semenya?

Will she be ousted by the athletic federation and prohibited from competing as a woman? Will she be allowed to compete as a woman after hormone treatment to reduce her testosterone levels and even surgery to remove her internal testicles?

And if she agrees to this, will she be able to compete on the level she has so far?

The answer is no. If she undergoes anti-androgen therapy to correct her condition, her masculinity, strength and endurance will decrease, and she will no longer be able to compete at her current levels.

Since testosterone is directly related to athletic performance, it would be unfair for any woman to compete with her, in the same manner that injecting testosterone (a form of doping) is also unfair.

After IAAF confirms the sex test results, the IAAF’s actions will have the potential of turning this into an identity debate of what it means to be a woman or a man and where those identities become blurred.

Caster Semenya Gender Tests to be Revealed

Caster Semenya, 18, has been thrown into the middle of a controversy recently due to her women’s 800m win last month. Her gold medal win for South Africa set a world record for the year. Semenya, who lives her life as a woman, has been met with extreme scrutiny because of her appearance. Semenya, has a large muscular frame, and a somewhat deeper voice than the average female. This brought speculation, that she was actually a male.

Her win came as a big surprise, due to her being relatively unknown before this race. There have been unconfirmed reports that gender testing revealed Semenya had male and female organs.

According to a report from the BBC,  medical tests have established that the young athlete  no womb or ovaries and that she also has internal testes – the male sexual organs responsible for producing testosterone.

She has pulled out of the women’s 4km in South Africa this weekend. Her coach has only said she was not feeling well. Semenya’s team is not commenting on the hermaphrodite reports. The IAAF, has said they are reviewing the results and will make a decision regarding Semenya’s ability to compete against other women. Semenya was put through the gender testing without her knowledge, she thought she was completing standard drug tests.

She has the support of the South African government behind her. The South African president has promised there will be ramifications if Semenya is stripped of her title. The violation of her privacy is being addressed legally as well.

caster semenya: Man or Woman?

South African teenage track star Caster Semenya has had to endure more scrutiny and humiliation than any young person should have to endure. Semenya is a South African track dynamo who has earned the title of The Teenage 800 Metres World Champion. You would think that an honor like this would cause this to be the happiest time in Semenya’s life. After years of hard work and dedication, she has finally achieved an honor such as this. But with this high honor has brought strict worldwide attention and criticism. Because of her outstanding performance in the race, throaty voice and muscular build, Semenya’s gender has been brought into question by the authorities at the IAAF (the International Association of Athletics Federations).

Semenya has improved greatly in one year’s time by improving 8 seconds off of her personal best 2-lap race time. The IAAF and other official parties involved tried to keep the investigation under wraps, but information was leaked by someone at the clinic that was conducting the testing of Semenya. For a teenager, this has become highly embarrassing and humiliating. The outcome has not yet been determined and already the speculation and the press surrounding the event have become somewhat unbearable for the teen. All of this negative attention has completely eclipsed the teen’s recent win.

The medal ceremony has been postponed until after the gender results have been returned for Semenya, but for now the world watches and waits. Many just hope for a favorable outcome in all of this for Semenya, so that the teen can enjoy some of the glory she’s worked so hard for.