Gold Medalist Ordered to take Gender Test

South African, Castner Semenya, won the 800 in Berlin

Questions about Caster Semenya gender is emerging as the teenager from South Africa easily won the 800 meter gold medal at the Track and Field World Championships in Berlin.

Semenya posted an impressive time and her sudden rise to fame lead officials to force her to undergo a gender test.

Semenya could be stripped of medal

During the race Semenya took the lead at the halfway mark and opened the gap in the last 400 meters to win by an impressive 2.45 seconds over defending 800 meter champion Jeneth Jepkosgei while Jennifer Meadows of Great Britain finished third in 1:57.93. 

South African officials were asked, three weeks ago, to conduct the gender test on Semenya when she finished in 1:56.72 at the African junior championships in Maruitius.

Her win in Berlin only fueled the fire for officials to conduct the gender test on the teen due to her sudden rise from an unknown to the 800 meter champion in what many consider an overnight sensation.

The test, which takes several weeks to finalize, should determine if Semenya meets the standards as “woman” set by IAAF track & field.

South African officials went on record as saying that Semenya is a woman and that her win is legitimate.

Medals were awarded for the 800 in Berlin, but Semenya’s win remains under a cloud of speculation.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies stated that this is a “medical issue” and not an issue of “cheating.”  Davies said that the testing has began and it is an expremely comlex process that requires a physical medical evaluation and includes reports from a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, internal medicine specialist and gender expert.

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