Caster Semenya took home the gold this week in the 800-meter female race at the track and field world championships in Berlin. There only lies one problem for this South African teenage superstar, the track and field governing body thinks she might be a man and has imposed a gender test on her to clear up any confusion.
If that doesn’t ruin your day then I just don’t know what will. For anyone who has been to races with runners from Kenya or Ethiopia, you know they can keep their hair really short, almost buzzed. But this is not primarily based on appearance, that would just be rude. Semenya has recently burst onto the running scene in dominating fashion winning the world championship while being a virtual unknown prior. Red flag? How about this, an uncharacteristic muscular build for a girls body. Are we getting warm yet? Factor all this in and it may trigger a little suspicion by some. Plus, after her race she didn’t speak to any reporters or attend the news conference. That didn’t help either. Did we mention she has a deep voice too?
A story like this triggers memories of old sports movies where the struggling girls team enlists a boy, who puts on a wig and talks with a high voice, then goes on to win the championship. This is a little different. This is not a movie where Rodney Dangerfield has to coach a girl’s soccer team then cheats by dressing up his stepson as a girl. This is different. For one, this isn’t funny. If Semenya had put on a cheap blond wig, then it would be funny. Sadly, this is not the case.
Caster Semenya will have to wait until the results get back to the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation). If they do come back positive, her gold medal could be stripped. Best case scenario for Semenya, she is proven innocent, retains her dignity, and goes home a world champion. Worst case scenario, she’s outing for being a man dressed a woman, stripped of her gold medal, banned for life from competition, and returns home a disgrace. For the sake of the sport, lets hope this is all a misunderstanding and Semenya keeps her medal. We all know cheating will always be a part of professional sports for a long time to come, but lets keep it with down to age discrepancies and illegal drug use, leave the gender impersonators out of it for now.
If that doesn’t ruin your day then I just don’t know what will. For anyone who has been to races with runners from Kenya or Ethiopia, you know they can keep their hair really short, almost buzzed. But this is not primarily based on appearance, that would just be rude. Semenya has recently burst onto the running scene in dominating fashion winning the world championship while being a virtual unknown prior. Red flag? How about this, an uncharacteristic muscular build for a girls body. Are we getting warm yet? Factor all this in and it may trigger a little suspicion by some. Plus, after her race she didn’t speak to any reporters or attend the news conference. That didn’t help either. Did we mention she has a deep voice too?
A story like this triggers memories of old sports movies where the struggling girls team enlists a boy, who puts on a wig and talks with a high voice, then goes on to win the championship. This is a little different. This is not a movie where Rodney Dangerfield has to coach a girl’s soccer team then cheats by dressing up his stepson as a girl. This is different. For one, this isn’t funny. If Semenya had put on a cheap blond wig, then it would be funny. Sadly, this is not the case.
Caster Semenya will have to wait until the results get back to the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation). If they do come back positive, her gold medal could be stripped. Best case scenario for Semenya, she is proven innocent, retains her dignity, and goes home a world champion. Worst case scenario, she’s outing for being a man dressed a woman, stripped of her gold medal, banned for life from competition, and returns home a disgrace. For the sake of the sport, lets hope this is all a misunderstanding and Semenya keeps her medal. We all know cheating will always be a part of professional sports for a long time to come, but lets keep it with down to age discrepancies and illegal drug use, leave the gender impersonators out of it for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment