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Gender tests conducted on 18-year-old track sensation Caster Semenya have determined that the South African woman has both male and female sexual characteristics, Australia's Daily Telegraph is reporting.
Semenya blew away the competition at last month’s IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Berlin. But the runner's stunning times, coupled with her muscular build and deep voice, led many to question whether she was, in fact, a woman.
The IAAF refused to comment on the claim, but earlier in the day general secretary Pierre Weiss said, "It is clear that she is a woman but maybe not 100 percent," the London Times reported.
The International Association of Athletics Federations, the governing body of international track and field, ordered gender tests on Semenya that involved a physical medical evaluation and reports from a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, internal medicine specialist and gender expert.
The Telegraph, citing an unidentified source, reported that they indicate that Semenya is intersex, with both male and female sexual characteristics.
The IAAF expects to receive the full set of medical results this week, the Telegraph reported.
According to the Telegraph, the tests reportedly showed that Semenya has no uterus or ovaries, and that she has three times more testosterone than a normal woman.
A source closely involved with the IAAF tests said Semenya had internal testes — the male sexual organs that produce testosterone, according to the Telegraph.
As a result, the IAAF could disqualify the South African from future events and strip her of her gold medal, the newspaper reported.
But IAAF spokesman Nick Davies told the Associated Press on Tuesday that Semenya is likely to keep her gold.
But IAAF spokesman Nick Davies told the Associated Press on Tuesday that Semenya is likely to keep her gold.
"There is no automatic disqualification of results in a case like this," Davies said. "This is not a doping case at present, so it shouldn't be considered as one where you have a retroactive stripping of results."
According to the National Institutes of Health, intersex, once referred to as hermaphroditism, is a group of conditions where there is a discrepancy between the external genitals and the internal genitals (the testes and ovaries).
Alison Redick, assistant professor of women's studies and a medical historian at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y., said this is the kind of case that poses the question: What standards are we using for sex and gender?
“Given that testosterone is not an exclusively male hormone — both male and female bodies produce testosterone and estrogen — where do we draw the line?” Redick asked. “And trying to draw that line is always going to be a problem, regardless of what someone’s biology indicates.”
Gender testing used to be mandatory for female athletes at the Olympics, but the screenings were dropped in 1999. One reason for the change was that not all women have standard female chromosomes.
There are also cases of people who have ambiguous genitalia or other congenital conditions. The most common cause of sexual ambiguity is congenital adrenal hyperplasia, an endocrine disorder where the adrenal glands produce abnormally high levels of hormones.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Click here to read more from The Daily Telegraph.
Report: Champion Runner Has Both Female, Male Sexual Characteristics - Incredible Health - FOXNews.com
Semenya blew away the competition at last month’s IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Berlin. But the runner's stunning times, coupled with her muscular build and deep voice, led many to question whether she was, in fact, a woman.
The IAAF refused to comment on the claim, but earlier in the day general secretary Pierre Weiss said, "It is clear that she is a woman but maybe not 100 percent," the London Times reported.
The International Association of Athletics Federations, the governing body of international track and field, ordered gender tests on Semenya that involved a physical medical evaluation and reports from a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, internal medicine specialist and gender expert.
The Telegraph, citing an unidentified source, reported that they indicate that Semenya is intersex, with both male and female sexual characteristics.
The IAAF expects to receive the full set of medical results this week, the Telegraph reported.
According to the Telegraph, the tests reportedly showed that Semenya has no uterus or ovaries, and that she has three times more testosterone than a normal woman.
A source closely involved with the IAAF tests said Semenya had internal testes — the male sexual organs that produce testosterone, according to the Telegraph.
As a result, the IAAF could disqualify the South African from future events and strip her of her gold medal, the newspaper reported.
But IAAF spokesman Nick Davies told the Associated Press on Tuesday that Semenya is likely to keep her gold.
But IAAF spokesman Nick Davies told the Associated Press on Tuesday that Semenya is likely to keep her gold.
"There is no automatic disqualification of results in a case like this," Davies said. "This is not a doping case at present, so it shouldn't be considered as one where you have a retroactive stripping of results."
According to the National Institutes of Health, intersex, once referred to as hermaphroditism, is a group of conditions where there is a discrepancy between the external genitals and the internal genitals (the testes and ovaries).
Alison Redick, assistant professor of women's studies and a medical historian at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y., said this is the kind of case that poses the question: What standards are we using for sex and gender?
“Given that testosterone is not an exclusively male hormone — both male and female bodies produce testosterone and estrogen — where do we draw the line?” Redick asked. “And trying to draw that line is always going to be a problem, regardless of what someone’s biology indicates.”
Gender testing used to be mandatory for female athletes at the Olympics, but the screenings were dropped in 1999. One reason for the change was that not all women have standard female chromosomes.
There are also cases of people who have ambiguous genitalia or other congenital conditions. The most common cause of sexual ambiguity is congenital adrenal hyperplasia, an endocrine disorder where the adrenal glands produce abnormally high levels of hormones.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Click here to read more from The Daily Telegraph.
Report: Champion Runner Has Both Female, Male Sexual Characteristics - Incredible Health - FOXNews.com
