Semenya Underwent “Humiliating” Gender Tests Ahead Of 2009 Worlds

The 18-year-old runner Caster Semenya, whose gender caused a whirlwind of media scrutiny at the 2009 Athletic World Championships in Berlin, Germany last month, had to undergo gender tests in her native South Africa before she entered to compete at the Worlds. Semenya said the tests were “humiliating” because her genitals were photographed while her feet were in stirrups. From available reports, it is obvious that the South African teenager was distraught over the tests, sending text messages to her friends from the hospital where the examination took place on August 7.

South African sport officials and many famous athletes around the world have protested the treatment of Caster Semenya, saying that the World Track & Field Governing Body should have done a better job shielding Semenya from the media scrutiny. South African minister of women and children affairs has even filed an official complaint with the United Nations about the treatment of the runner.