Athletics Weekly

by **sidelined** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 6:11 pm

I think we can all agree on one thing: that the IAAF need to come up with a new rule to prevent this situation from happening again. They need to be able to suspend an athlete from competing while investigations into their gender are being carried out. Whether such a rule would be problematical to write, I have no idea.

by **Kermit** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:56 pm

Here's the latest in what is sure to be an epic movie!

http://www.insidethegames.biz/index.php ... &Itemid=73

South Africa's Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) has launched a full investigation into the Caster Semenya (pictured) saga, they have announced.

Athletics South Africa (ASA) have promised that they will cooperate fully with the probe into the gender row that has attracted worldwide attention.

by **Javelin Sam** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 12:40 am

ASA chief has kept his job despite embarrassing the whole of south africa, the ASA, caster semenya and his/her family. This has caused uproar amongst the political fraternity!

by **sprintfan** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 2:51 pm

Dreadful decision to keep the Head of Athletics in South Africa. Guy should be hung drawn and quartered!

With SA's murder rate you never know.............

by **mercury** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:07 pm

He would have been sacked from most other federations. I think this illustrates how much corruption and cronyism there is in South Africa. Never mind the welfare of the athletes.

by **sprintfan** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:12 pm

confirmed by South Africans friends comments earlier today.......if I were a footy fan I'd not be going to South Africa next year.......

by **Kermit** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:58 pm

Caster Semenya's gender results will be released next month, the International Association of Athletics Federations has said, but world athletics' governing body has not, as yet, chosen a specific date for the publication of the results.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... -IAAF.html

by **Kermit** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 11:00 am

October 25 - Lamine Diack, President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), must apologise to world 800 metres champion Caster Semenya before the South African Government will open talks, a senior official warned today.

http://www.insidethegames.biz/index.php ... &Itemid=73

by **lsabre** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:14 pm

South Africans have become far too insolent these days, where does this come from really? They have retained as head of their Track & Field body someone who has lied in public so blatantly over the matter at issue, so how much confidence can anyone have in them or how "traumatised" Semenya has been... She didn't look that "affected" when competing at the World Champs, so I don't buy a thing into it. And what if the gender test results reveal that she cannot be considered a female athlete? Will Diack have to apolosize again too?

by **sidelined** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 9:33 pm

Here's another interesting piece from Duncan Mackay about the muddy political waters surrounding Semenya's participation in Berlin. The suggestion is that Chuene backtracked on his initial decision to withdraw Semenya in order to please his political masters.

http://www.insidethegames.biz/index.php ... &Itemid=73

by **Kermit** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 5:23 pm

The report must be due out very soon as the news relating to it is no longer a trickle!

October 26 - South Africa's opposition party has demanded that Butana Komphela (pictured), chairman of the the country's Sports and Recreation Portfolio Committee, be excluded from any future discussions about world 800 metres champion Caster Semenya after allegations that he knew there were doubts over her gender.

http://www.insidethegames.biz/index.php ... atest-news

by **Kermit** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:02 pm

LONDON (AP) -- The International Olympic Committee will convene a special conference of medical experts to draw up guidelines for dealing with "ambiguous" gender cases in the wake of South African runner Caster Semenya's sex-test controversy.

http://www.universalsports.com//ViewArt ... =204821999

by **Kermit** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:53 pm

South Africa's Olympic governing body has suspended Athletics South Africa's president, while the ASA has apologised to Caster Semenya over her gender row.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/8344591.stm

by **Kermit** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 6:05 pm

CONTROVERSIAL 800m runner Caster Semenya will find out if she can continue competing as woman on November 20.

http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/athle ... ovember-20

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/athletics/8360295.stm

by **sidelined** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:55 pm

Here's an extensive interview with Semenya and her coach. She's putting a very brave face on it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/no ... ining-camp

by **Kermit** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:08 pm

This has just come through regarding the Guardian piece

Lawyers for Caster Semenya, who has been embroiled in a gender controversy since her 800m victory at the World Championships in August, say the South African teenager was tricked into speaking to a reporter from The Guardian. The British newspaper denies the claim and says they were invited to speak to Semenya by her coach.

http://www.universalsports.com/news/art ... um=twitter

by **sidelined** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 12:26 am

That's interesting, Kermit. Nothing seems to be simple when it comes to Semenya. In the Guardian article her coach, Michael Seme, says he motivated her to improve by telling her she'd run 2:02 when she'd really run 1:59. So who 'duped' her if she met the journalist three times and posed for photographs? Seme? Or maybe it's her lawyers...

by **Kermit** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 2:43 am

I'm not so sure that the results due out at the end of next week will be the end of the matter. I suspect that the ANC and the lawyers smell money via the courts.

by **roseben** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 11:14 am

Anything that's smelly, dishonest and money grubbing you can be sure the lawyers will not be far away.

by **SteveK26** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:02 pm

Even if she is cleared to run by officials or panels or whoever, I cannot see how it will work in practice. The same debate will rage on everywhere she competes, which is hardly going to motivate her to stay in the sport.She will be constantly under the microscope and it wont be long before the paparazzi start asking questions about boyfriends etc.You can see it all coming can't you?

by **Kermit** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:07 pm

She could do with Max Clifford!

by **SteveK26** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:42 pm

Kermit
LOL very funny!!
But I think Miss Semenya needs more than Max C..... something more devine may be all that can save her career.
Unless she is amazingly self-confident,or thick-skinned.

by **Kermit** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:42 pm

Here comes the twist folks - I would say to you now, read between the lines!

The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), the global governing body for athletics, confirmed today that the gender determination case of world 800m champion, Caster Semenya of South Africa, was still ongoing. However, the Monte Carlo-based organization provided no clues as to what progress had been made in the case and when a decision on her eligibility to compete would be made.

http://www.runnerspace.com/news.php?do= ... ws_id=7745

by **SteveK26** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:16 pm

I'm not quite sure what I read between those lines, but one thing is for sure...she wont have much time left to prepare herself mentally for 2010, even if she is back in training (which I doubt).

by **Kermit** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:38 pm

If allowed to run as a woman!

by **SteveK26** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:46 pm

Well against the men even the mighty Caster will (probably) struggle.
In all seriousness if that is the likely outcome then that will be a line drawn under her career.Enter the lawyers,sensing gigantic pay-days for some time to come!

by **Kermit** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 4:55 pm

And here we are - the end game

South Africa’s government, Caster Semenya’s lawyers and the IAAF have all agreed that the 18-year-old will retain her gold medal, title and prize money. The 800-meter world champion was found “innocent of any wrong” after her gender was questioned and tested after her drastically improved performance at the 2009 IAAF World Championships.

http://www.universalsports.com/news/art ... ld%20title

by **SteveK26** » Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:28 am

Sounds almost like a plea bargain:You can keep your gold medal and prize money but dont turn up in the womens800 again.
I wonder what the outcome would have been had she obliterated the world record in Berlin?

by **Kermit** » Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:10 am

Steve I have just started to read your lat post when this arrived on my system answering your comment.

November 19 - There is no secret deal between the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and Caster Semenya (pictured) allowing her to keep the gold medal she won in the 800 metres at the World Championships in Berlin earlier this year, the world governing body claimed.

http://www.insidethegames.biz/index.php ... &Itemid=73

by **Laps** » Fri Nov 20, 2009 12:30 pm

The South African government and athletics association really are the pits.
A sort of textbook example of bad governance, with Semenya the pawn in the game.

Athletics Weekly

Caster Semenya

Who is online