Runners To Boycott Semenya
Caster Semenya’s much-anticipated return to the track on June 24 in Spain appears to be unwelcome among some athletes.
According to The Times of London, some elite runners are considering boycotting races if Semenya is allowed to take part in women’s events after the resolution of her protracted sex-test case.
The South African has not competed since her gender became a source of global debate when she won the 800m at the world championships in Berlin in August.
She has said she will return in Zaragoza next month.
In an interview with the British newspaper, Jenny Meadows, the Briton who took the bronze in Berlin and has been one of few athletes to back Semenya, said that some athletes won’t run if the 19-year-old South African is cleared to compete.
This would put the International Association of Athletics Federations in a sticky position ahead of its promised resolution by the end of next month.
With thanks to timesonline.co.za
Semenya Still Waiting
Caster Semenya’s future remains in doubt, with no further progress having been made on the gender verification tests that began last summer following the South African teenager’s world title win in the 800 metres.
The International Association of Athletics Federations said today that the medical results were still pending in the case of the 19-year-old and discussions with Semenya’s legal representatives, Dewey and LeBouef, are ongoing.
That will come as a disappointment to Semenya’s supporters who had been promised a resolution months ago, a public announcement having been planned to coincide with the IAAF council meeting in Monaco last November. Instead the case drags on.
“The IAAF and Caster Semenya’s representatives are still in discussions with a view to resolving the issues surrounding her participation in athletics,” said Nick Davies, the IAAF communications director. “As a result no further comments will be made on this subject by the IAAF until further notice.”
Semenya’s absence at the World Indoor Championships, at which the 800m heats begin tomorrow, will be conspicuous. The Limpopo province teenager would have been the clear favourite to take the indoor title; instead Britain’s Jenny Meadows will compete for the gold medal against the in-form Russians Yevgeniya Zinurova and Mariya Savinova. All three have broken two minutes this season, the only women to have done so.
Semenya has not raced since the controversy broke. She had been expected to time her comeback with the start of the domestic season in February but confusion among South Africa’s sporting governing bodies over whether she is eligible to compete has clouded the issue. The IAAF, however, insists she is not officially suspended from competition.
With thanks to the guardian.co.uk
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