Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: athletics

athletics stories: 26 news summaries

1 - 20 of 26 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

UPDATED

Semenya Will Keep Medals; Gender Test Confidential

Board rules in favor of South African runner

Nov 19, 09 7:01 AM CST
(AP) - 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. "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
South Africa • athletics • IAAF • Caster Semenya • gender test

Strip Club's Ad Pokes Fun
at Hermaphrodite Runner

'No need for gender testing!' billboard draws complaints

Sep 30, 09 10:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - A strip club’s seemingly obvious reference to the South African runner revealed to be a hermaphrodite is, predictably, drawing complaints—though the club’s owner says his billboard proclaiming “No need for gender testing!” underneath a busty model isn’t a stab at Caster Semenya. Lolly Jackson... More »

MORE ABOUT:
advertising • South Africa • strip club • athletics • hermaphrodite • billboards • Caster Semenya • gender test • Leonard Chuene • Teazers • Lolly Jackson

 South Africa: Ax 
 Lying Semenya Official 

His coverup hurt runner, says sports minister

Sep 20, 09 7:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - South African government officials are calling for the firing of an athletic director who admitted lying about gender tests before Caster Semenya entered her controversial World Championship race last month. "His lies were to Ms. Semenya's detriment," said a statement from the nation's sports minister, reports the BBC.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gender • sports • athletics • World Championships • Caster Semenya • Leonard Chuene • intersex • gender tests

Semenya Is a Hermaphrodite: Aussie Tab

South African track sensation has no uterus or ovaries: source

Sep 10, 09 5:44 PM CDT
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
South Africa • athletics • IAAF • track and field • gold medalist • Caster Semenya • gender test

 Experts Called 
 In to Review 
 Semenya's  
 Gender Tests 

South African track champ may be suffering chromosomal disorder

Sep 9, 09 2:44 AM CDT
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
South Africa • athletics • IAAF • gold medalist • gender confusion • Caster Semenya • gender test

glossies

 Critics Boo as Schools 
 Nix Athletic Cheerleading 

UConn accused of sexism for cutting gymnastic routines

Sep 5, 09 7:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ditch all those nasty gymnastics routines, girls, and look cute again! That's what some observers heard when the University of Connecticut ended gymnastic and tumbling skills in its cheerleaders' routines last week, Sarah Ball writes in Newsweek. "Even if school officials weren't solely motivated by wanting to see less... More »

MORE ABOUT:
sexism • college • athletics • cheerleading • cheerleaders • University of Connecticut

(Newser) - World champion sprinter Caster Semenya received a heroine's welcome today in Johannesburg, where thousands of South Africans waved signs reading "Our first lady of sport" and "100% female woman." The 18-year-old runner, caught up in suspicions about her gender, had a huge smile as spectators sang and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gender • South Africa • athlete • athletics • runner • Johannesburg • Caster Semenya

OPINION

 Women, 
 Time to 
 Compete 
 Against 
 the Men 

Eliminating divisions will solve gender identity issues in sports

Aug 23, 09 12:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Female athletes will always be inherently inferior to their male counterparts unless they can directly prove their mettle against them, Dominic Lawson writes in a provocative column for the Times of London. His solution: “Let there be no male or female athletics championships. Instead, let men and women—and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gender • sports • women • men • athletics • Olympics • gender confusion • Caster Semenya

OPINION

 Is She a Man? 
 Is Phelps a Fish? 


Aug 21, 09 8:55 AM CDT
(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 "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
gender • Michael Phelps • genetics • genetic testing • athletics • IAAF • genetic abnormalities • Caster Semenya

(Newser) - Night owls may have a tough time conforming to normal work schedules, but they do have one advantage in athletic ability that early birds can’t match, CNN reports. A new study tested leg strength at various times during the day and found that morning people were consistent while late... More »

MORE ABOUT:
sleep • athletics • workout • scientific study • night owl • early bird • physical activity

(Newser) - The Congressional Budget Office, eager for new sources of income, is considering taxation options for the nation’s collegiate athletic franchises, the Economist reports. Among the proposals are curtailing deductions for charitable donations to college sports programs; limiting tax-exempt bonds; and, most drastically, stripping the programs of their traditional... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NCAA • recession • athletics • college sports • college basketball • Obama administration • taxation • college football

Saudi Crackdown Sends Female Gym Rats to Sidelines

Religious leaders say sports are unfeminine

May 14, 09 3:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - Though obesity and diabetes are on the rise in Saudi Arabia, officials there are cracking down on women-only sports clubs because they lack licenses—which no government body will actually issue. Leaders say their opposition is based on Islam, but, Caryle Murphy writes for GlobalPost, it stems as much from... More »

MORE ABOUT:
obesity • sports • Islam • Saudi Arabia • diabetes • women's rights • athletics • fitness • Jay-ZTV

 US Woman 
 First to 
 Swim Atlantic 

56-year-old American churns from Africa to Trinidad in 24 days

Feb 8, 09 6:24 AM CST
(Newser) - A 56-year-old American became the first woman to swim across the Atlantic, completing a 24-day journey from Africa's Cape Verde Islands to Trinidad, reports the BBC. Jennifer Figge of Colorado swam up to 8 hours at a stretch, protected by a cage to fend off sharks. She swam approximately 2,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Atlantic Ocean • swimming • athletics • broken records • Jennifer Figge

Obama's Sportswear 'Endorsements' Worth Millions

Nike, North Face get free pub from prez-elect

Nov 27, 08 4:52 PM CST
(Newser) - The latest high-profile sportswear-endorser doesn’t charge brands like Nike and North Face a thing to be seen wearing their logos, but his fashion choices may be worth millions, the Times of London reports. Barack Obama’s love of the gym and the basketball court is famous, and companies are... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • sports • sneakers • Nike • athletics • endorsement • President Obama • sportswear

(AP) - The US men's and women's teams swept the 1600-meter relays today, ending a string of frustrations for the Americans that included dropped batons in two earlier races. For the women, Sanya Richards anchored her team in a come-from-behind victory over Russia in 3:18.54, the world's fastest time since... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Russia • Team USA • United States • Jamaica • 2008 Beijing Olympics • athletics • track and field

OPINION

 How the Decathlon
 Got Stuck in the Mud

Drugs, fan demand for broken records to blame of 10-discipline event

Aug 21, 08 8:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Once upon a time, the decathlon was it: The king of Sweden called 1912 Olympic champ Jim Thorpe “the world’s greatest athlete, and gold medalists such as Bruce Jenner became superstars. So what happened? Drugs, Robert Weintraub writes in Slate: Track events occupy the same space as the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
2008 Beijing Olympics • athletics • Olympics • Jim Thorpe • decathlon • Bruce Jenner • Bryan Clay

(Newser) - Women will never run a marathon faster than men, a sports scientist tells Time. Although women have higher body-fat ratios and presumably a larger emergency energy store, females do not have the muscular power that males have, and that may be the "differentiating factor." When matched for weight,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
women • marathon • athletics • running

OPINION

Forget Olympics: Gladiators Takes Gold for Fun

Rocketball and Gauntlet make better TV than all that running and swimming

Aug 2, 08 7:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - American Gladiators wraps up just before the Olympics, and the Games will seem mighty dull by comparison, Ben Mathis-Lilley writes in the Washington Post.  Rooting for the team is what makes watching sports fun, he writes, and it's much easier to root for an ordinary joe playing Rocketball than... More »

MORE ABOUT:
sports • NBC • 2008 Beijing Olympics • athletics • Hulk Hogan • American Gladiators • Olympic athletes

 Double Dutch Made
 NYC School Sport

Jump-rope league expected to draw big interest

Jul 27, 08 2:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - New York City schools will offer a new sport this spring: competitive double dutch jump-roping. The first school district to start official teams has done so in recognition of the sport's popularity among the city's youth—and to promote fitness, AP reports. "It's something that builds stamina," explains... More »

MORE ABOUT:
New York City • athletics • exercise • school districts • jump rope • double dutch

 Under Armour Masters Product Placement

From sports to film and TV, firm goes beyond advertising

Jul 25, 08 5:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - There was a time when Baltimore sportswear maker Under Armour had to pay for advertising. No more, the Sun reports: its distinctive opposing-U shape has become ubiquitous in film and TV, prominently displayed in productions from Any Given Sunday to The Wire. During the first 3 months of 2008, Under... More »

MORE ABOUT:
sports • commercials • athletics • Baltimore • clothing • product placement • Under Armour

1 - 20 of 26 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


from our news partners