Caster Semenya Case Opening Old Wounds

http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2009/09/caster-semenya-case-opening-old-wounds.html
Monica Roberts
9/11/09

I was watching the track and field championships in Berlin last month when Caster Semenya won her 800m gold medal in the fifth fastest time ever run by a woman.

But as I know from my time on planet Earth, if an African descended female athlete excels in spectacular fashion, we get accused of cheating or have 'that's a man' shade hurled at us.

When you combine it with the hypercompetitive world of international sports in which national pride and prestige is on the line, it was inevitable that somebody would try to find a way to knock this talented runner out of international competition, especially with the 2012 London Olympic Games on the horizon.

At that level of competition, you are opening yourself to accusations and testing. It is part of the IAAF policy to test if anything is suspected. And for good reason.

I feel bad if they find out they are something they did not expect, however, they did not have to compete if they feared the results. If you take steroids and enter Major League Baseball, and suddenly are hitting lots of grand slams, you WILL be checked, it's just how things are. In car racing they have the right to tear the car apart. All of this is well laid out for you in advance at this sort of competition.

Black, white, male, female, it doesn't matter. If you wipe the competition, expect it and don't complain. It's part of the rules you agreed to.