IAAF

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Behind the Fastest Woman on Earth, Empty Seats

IAAF catching flak for turnout at track world championships in Doha

(Newser) - The women's 100-meter final is called "one of the marquee events" of the world track championships taking place right now in Doha, Qatar, per the AP . Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce took gold in the event Sunday night, making her the fastest woman on Earth. At 32, she's the oldest...

After Court Overturns Ruling, Semenya Won't Defend Title

Athlete has pledged to stop taking testosterone-suppressing drugs

(Newser) - Caster Semenya won't defend her title in the 800 meters at the world championships this fall after a Swiss court overturned a temporary ruling that allowed her to compete in international events without taking testosterone-suppressing drugs. Semenya is locked in a court battle with the IAAF, track and field'...

Big Win for Female Runner Born With High Testosterone

Court suspends the IAAF's regulations for 2 years

(Newser) - "I was humiliated for something that I can’t be blamed for." Humiliated, but no longer penalized, at least for now. Sprinter Dutee Chand, 19, will not be barred from competition following today's interim ruling by a sports appeals court, which found there wasn't sufficient evidence...

Caster Semenya Wins in Return to Track

South African teen missed 11 months while undergoing gender testing

(Newser) - Caster Semenya won the 800m at a minor meet tonight in Finland, her first competition since the IAAF cleared the South African teen to compete as a woman . Looking happy and relaxed, she comfortably dealt with a larger-than-usual crowd and massive media contingent, the Guardian reports . "I felt more...

Semenya Not Picked for South Africa Team

Despite IAAF permission, won't race in Kenya on July 28

(Newser) - Though the IAAF cleared her for competition last Tuesday, Caster Semenya's year-long absence from racing still isn't over: The women's 800m world champion has been left out of South Africa's team for the African Championships on July 28 in Kenya, after the country's athletic group determined she wasn't in good...

Caster Semenya Will Return to Competition

Coach says she'll run even as gender inquiry continues

(Newser) - The South African runner at the center of a controversy over gender plans to return to racing next month. Caster Semenya, the women's 800-meters world champ, will run in a few local races in advance of a return to international events, her coach tells the BBC . The move comes despite...

The Meaning of Caster Semenya
 The Meaning of Caster Semenya 
Nov 23, 2009 1:43 PM CST

The Meaning of Caster Semenya

Gender a more fluid concept than sports are prepared to handle

(Newser) - South Africa has rallied around Caster Semenya, but the IAAF still has no idea what to do with her—or the question of gender as a whole. Semenya’s case is particularly personal for South Africans. The country has an unusually high number of intersexed individuals, and apartheid left behind...

IAAF Denies It OK'd Gold Medal for Semenya

Talks continuing in gender controversy

(Newser) - The International Association of Athletics Foundation is denying claims by the South African government that it decided to allow runner Caster Semenya to keep her gold medal in the wake of questions about her gender. South African officials announced yesterday that Semenya has been cleared of "wrongdoing" and would...

Semenya Will Keep Medals; Gender Test Confidential

Board rules in favor of South African runner

(Newser) - South African runner Caster Semenya will keep her 800-meter gold medal from the world championships, and she'll keep the results of her gender tests to herself, the South African sports ministry said today. The ministry also said that the 18-year-old Semenya will be allowed to keep her prize money. "...

Athletics Boss: I Lied About Semenya

'Tell me someone who has not lied to protect a child,' Chuene says

(Newser) - The president of Athletics South Africa admitted today that he lied to cover up gender tests conducted on runner Caster Semenya, saying he was trying to protect her, the Mail & Guardian reports. Leonard Chuene also admitted to rejecting advice from an ASA team doctor to withdraw Semenya from last...

Semenya Ban Would Start World War III: S. Africa

Sports minister steps up defense of racing champ

(Newser) - South Africa’s sports minister threatened “the third world war” if Caster Semenya is barred from competing in women’s sporting events because of the results of a sex test, the BBC reports. Such a decision “would be totally unfair and totally unjust,” said the official. “...

Semenya Is a Hermaphrodite: Aussie Tab

South African track sensation has no uterus or ovaries: source

(Newser) - South African track star Caster Semenya is a hermaphrodite, the Daily Telegraph of Australia reports. The 18-year-old has no ovaries or uterus, according to the tabloid, which cites "a source closely involved" in tests ordered by the international track and field governing body after Semenya won the gold medal...

Experts Called In to Review Semenya's Gender Tests

South African track champ may be suffering chromosomal disorder

(Newser) - The International Association of Athletics Federations' gender testing on Caster Semenya is complete, and enough doubt remains that she is truly female that experts have been called in to examine the results, the Daily Telegraph reports. The review will determine whether the South African runner suffers from a chromosomal disorder...

Is She a Man? Is Phelps a Fish?
 Is She a Man? 
 Is Phelps a Fish? 
OPINION
Aug 21, 2009 8:55 AM CDT

Is She a Man? Is Phelps a Fish?

(Newser) - It's wrong to be subjecting South African sprinter Caster Semenya to "a public slaying," writes Antonia Senior, who says that debating her gender has no more credibility than asking if "Michael Phelps is really a fish." For the Times of London columnist, sports are now "...

S. African Track Star Told to Take Gender Test

Gender confusion has followed Semenya's meteoric success

(Newser) - The International Association of Athletics Federations has asked South African track star Caster Semenya to undergo gender testing, the BBC reports. The 18-year-old Semenya won the 800-meter final today at the World Championships in Berlin, just weeks after becoming African junior champion by smashing the South African record.

7 Russian Athletes Suspended for Doping

Female runners banned from Olympics

(Newser) - Seven female athletes from Russia were suspended today for doping violations, a potentially devastating blow to the nation's medal hopes just a week before the Olympics begin, the New York Times reports. Five of the women, all members of Russia's track and field team, were scheduled to compete in the...

Official's Knock Irks Amputee Sprinter

Lawyers threaten after IAAF rep urges Olympic exclusion over safety

(Newser) - Lawyers for double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius responded aggressively after a track and field official recommended South Africa exclude him from its Olympic relay squad "for reasons of safety," the New York Times reports. Pistorius, 23, “reserves all rights and remedies” if track's governing body doesn't retract, noting...

Bladerunner Wins Appeal, Sets Sights on Olympics

Double amputee can compete in trials

(Newser) - Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter who wants the chance to compete in the Olympics on his carbon-fiber blades, has won his appeal. The Court of Arbitration for Sport revoked the IAAF's ban on the South African Paralympic champion, making Pistorius eligible to compete against able-bodied runners. The runner is eager...

'Blade Runner' Found to Have Advantage

Amputee expected to be banned from Olympics after expert ruling

(Newser) - The double amputee who has petitioned to be included in this year's Olympic track and field events is likely to be denied his request today, the Guardian reports. A biomechanics expert concluded that the J-shaped carbon-fiber prosthetics South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius uses gives him an unfair advantage in stride...

Gay Tops 100m Record-Holder to Claim Gold

Powell hears footsteps, takes 3rd behind new Olympic favorite

(Newser) - American Tyson Gay blazed past the world co-record holder in the last 20 meters of the 100m dash to take gold in the World Championships today in Tokyo. Jamaican Asafa Powell was faster out of the blocks, but "I panicked," he said. "I felt him coming on....

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