800 Meter World Champion Gender Controversy

[4erin]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/david_epstein/08/21/semenya/index.html?eref=sihpT1Here is a video of a race for those of you who haven't seen it.

[2Morganne]

i'm not to sure.. it's really hard to tell with stuff like this sometimes because there are girls that have masculine features and that are really good athletes

[2Alex]

A chick on steriods it has to be.

[5lucas]

he prolly likes men

[3kyle]

Well if you look at the croch region. nothing is real apparent so i would have to go with female.

[3Nelson]

this is so messed up. Its half woman half man, lol

[5Shelbie]

I have heard a lot about this and I just don't know what to think. He/she definitely looks like a man. The build of he/shes body, the facial structure, and the deep voice say a lot. There have been cases like this before, where a person may have the looks of a male but really be a female.

[3Liz]

Ok I couldn't really tell. S(he) did have longer shorts and a bigger strapped, longer shirt. All of the others had sort of bikini uniforms. I mean ya there are muscular women, but s(he) did look like a guy. The next thing I think of is if s(he) is a girl, is she taking steroids to make her better and they make her look like a guy too?

[3AustinE]

Looking at the picture and from the video it is very hard to tell. She could be a man but I doubt it. I also think that we would never really know cause its not very nice to go up to someone and say "You look like a man, can I see your birth certificate"

[4Tara]

wasnt there a problem similar to this with Jarmila Kratochvilova?
Personally, I think it is VERY possible that the runner in this video is female. Yeah she does have masculine features, but women athletes are known to be really fit, maybe she has something else in her genetic makeup that magnifies these features. Maybe they are a hymaphrodite. maybe a transsexual. and yes, maybe a man, but I wouldnt be quick to judge about that.

[4Nathan]

I am hoping it is a girls just because if it is really a guy, then they cheated the system of proffesional athletics. I reme,ber watching it on TV and the people saying that she would have to go through like five different test and doctors to proove that she is really a guy or a girl.