ClydeR
08-25-2009, 02:07 PM
One area where Obama appears to be falling short is in protecting our Olympic athletes from unfair competition. He needs to do something about this. Not a peep from him so far.
When sports talk goes from X's and O's to X's and Y's - chromosomes - the level of expertise falls off dramatically. Amid the furor of some screeching headlines ("She is a He!"), competitors' accusations and track officials' confirmation that they will subject women's world 800-meter champion Caster Semenya of South Africa to gender verification tests, most observers appear to be in over their heads regarding the complexities of sexual identity.
Almost everything about the issue is fuzzy: Where to draw the biological line between male and female, exactly what standard is used by the track authorities in deeming a female ineligible to compete as a woman, precisely what tests answer such questions. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has asked for reports that will take weeks to review - from a gynecologist, an endocrinologist, a psychologist, a specialist in internal medicine and a gender expert.
More... (http://www.newsday.com/columnists/john-jeansonne/gender-sport-s-toughest-question-1.1387890)
Fuzzy? Umm, no. It's not a fuzzy question at all. I could solve this rather quickly.
The classroom has cheap wooden desks lining a bare concrete floor. Paint is peeling off the graffiti-strewn walls beneath a corrugated tin roof. Caster Semenya was just another pupil in this impoverished corner of South Africa until her body propelled her to international glory – and very public humiliation.
Semenya, 18, stormed to victory last week in the women's 800 metres at the world athletics championships in Berlin. But her rags-to-riches journey had been called into question even before the starting gun. The athlete's muscular build, deep voice, facial hair and suddenly improved performances led to a frenzy of speculation that the fastest woman in the world over two laps is, in fact, a man.
More... (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/aug/23/caster-semenya-athletics-gender)
"The IAAF recognises the sensitivity of this issue and deeply regrets the allegations being made about the reasons for which these tests are being conducted," the IAAF said in Berlin.
The statement comes in the wake of a storm of outrage in South Africa which has rallied behind the 18-year-old who came almost out of nowhere to take the gold on Wednesday in the Olympic Stadium with a huge margin, running eight seconds faster than her best 2008 time.
More... (http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1053584)
When sports talk goes from X's and O's to X's and Y's - chromosomes - the level of expertise falls off dramatically. Amid the furor of some screeching headlines ("She is a He!"), competitors' accusations and track officials' confirmation that they will subject women's world 800-meter champion Caster Semenya of South Africa to gender verification tests, most observers appear to be in over their heads regarding the complexities of sexual identity.
Almost everything about the issue is fuzzy: Where to draw the biological line between male and female, exactly what standard is used by the track authorities in deeming a female ineligible to compete as a woman, precisely what tests answer such questions. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has asked for reports that will take weeks to review - from a gynecologist, an endocrinologist, a psychologist, a specialist in internal medicine and a gender expert.
More... (http://www.newsday.com/columnists/john-jeansonne/gender-sport-s-toughest-question-1.1387890)
Fuzzy? Umm, no. It's not a fuzzy question at all. I could solve this rather quickly.
The classroom has cheap wooden desks lining a bare concrete floor. Paint is peeling off the graffiti-strewn walls beneath a corrugated tin roof. Caster Semenya was just another pupil in this impoverished corner of South Africa until her body propelled her to international glory – and very public humiliation.
Semenya, 18, stormed to victory last week in the women's 800 metres at the world athletics championships in Berlin. But her rags-to-riches journey had been called into question even before the starting gun. The athlete's muscular build, deep voice, facial hair and suddenly improved performances led to a frenzy of speculation that the fastest woman in the world over two laps is, in fact, a man.
More... (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/aug/23/caster-semenya-athletics-gender)
"The IAAF recognises the sensitivity of this issue and deeply regrets the allegations being made about the reasons for which these tests are being conducted," the IAAF said in Berlin.
The statement comes in the wake of a storm of outrage in South Africa which has rallied behind the 18-year-old who came almost out of nowhere to take the gold on Wednesday in the Olympic Stadium with a huge margin, running eight seconds faster than her best 2008 time.
More... (http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1053584)