When sport turns nasty

Running sensation Caster Semenya is a 'hermaphrodite'. Now that's out in the open and a teenager has been given the biggest existential shudder of her life, what next?

To be honest, why this information was of any consequence in the first place is beyond my comprehension. Perhaps, the splendid series of all those medical examinations might have seemed a little less extravagant if she was competing for the title of Ms Universe or, say, the world's best surrogate mother, or maybe even the nun of the year, or something gender-exclusive like that.

Clearly that was not the case. Semenya was competing for something she does best and that is running. What has lack of womb or ovaries got to do with that? Or is it the presence of internal testes that proved to be the deal breaker here?

If so, surely that says a lot in terms of our confidence in internal testes' capability to win a sporting event against world's top athletes. I'm now interested in finding out if a different arrangement of reproductive organs can somehow magically turn ordinary people into super humans or super athletes. "Here you go, Xena – here are the internal testes you ordered."

Having said that, I can try to understand why her different anatomical makeup might have caused concern for some – "Because it might not have been fair on the other normal female runners." But seriously, let's discuss.

From an objective point of view, is there any way to analyse if an intersex – the new medical term for hermaphrodite – is physically stronger than an average female athlete? Let's say she is, how does her strength and stamina compare to an average male athlete? Let's say it is very comparable. Should she, then, be allowed to compete in a men’s race? Wouldn't the lofty sporting authorities be confronted with a similar ethical dilemma as they are in right now?

What I'm trying to get at is – where does an athlete of Semenya's calibre and genetic makeup fit? a) men's 800m b) women's 800m c) none of the above, go home?

If the answer's c, can we expect special Olympics for intersex people to be in the pipeline? Surely it would be a bit of an unnecessary waste to let such sporting talent fizzle away so ungracefully, especially if the aim of such competitions is to acknowledge and encourage the extraordinary.

My point is, why subject a dedicated and passionate runner like her to such ridicule? Because of these curious findings, the derision that was confined to an unknown province in South Africa, is now available to the world to have a go at. What could this runner – who's been hiding since the test results – have done differently? Entered the competition as a man?

And where are all those defamation rules now? While public's right to know reigns supreme, by definition, if a statement about a person that tends to make others shun or avoid him/her – that's defamation.

Also, I want to know if there are any gender examinations at the time of registration of such events.

Semenya was caught out because of her manly appearance, but what if there are others who've got feminine looks on their side?

Wouldn't it be a shame if we found out that all these years, all female sporting-event enthusiasts were cheated by some very effeminate men?