Runner Caster Semenya to Undergo Gender Testing

UPDATE: It has now been confirmed…Caster Semenya is a hermaphrodite…click here.

UPDATE 2: Semenya has been cleared to return to Track and Field.

South African athlete Caster Semenya is disputing claims that her outstanding performance in her races may be due to the fact that she’s not 100 percent female.

Semenya, 18, is quite muscular and angular but her handlers insist that she is completely female.

Molatelo Malehopo, general manager of Athletics South Africa, has this to say on the matter:

“She is a female. We are completely sure about that and we wouldn’t have entered her into the female competition if we had any doubts. We have not been absent minded, we are very sure of her gender. We are aware of the claims that have been made but our aim at the moment is to prepare Caster for the race this evening. We have not started testing and we have no plans to do.”

It seems that doubts still remain regarding her “running style” and she will be tested for chromosomal abnormalities. Some experts speculate that she could have a rare disorder that causes her to exhibit traits present in both male and female genders, perhaps like some pop singers.

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