How do you know the sex of a chromosome? Pull down its genes! If only it were that easy… Today, Team SA arrived back in South Africa after the World Championships in Berlin. The welcome home ceremony was really about one person – Caster Semenya, and the scenes in Johannesburg were just extra-ordinary. We have […]
Archives for August 2009
Caster Semenya debate takes a racist turn
I suppose it was inevitable. Given the charged nature of the debate, given the controversy that can see 200 comments written to an article, the debate around the sex of Caster Semenya was always going to provoke emotive responses. But how about this one: “This is about racism,” Chuene said. “These rumours come from South Africa. […]
Usain Bolt: 19.19s – you must be kidding
I must confess, I didn’t think the world record would fall. I was pretty sure he’d win, by far, but I felt a 19.4 would be enough, and that another record was just out of reach. Bolt didn’t – he ran 19.19s, winning by 0.62 seconds, and with it, won his 5th gold medal in a 5th […]
Sex determination in sport
I woke up this morning, after a short (5 hour) sleep to discover 70 emails and comments from you in response to the current Caster Semenya controversy. Thank you for the time taken to read the article and send in your opinions! Please don’t take the silence and lack of a response as a sign […]
Caster Semenya: Male or female?
Thank you for visiting The Science of Sport. You’ve come to the right place for insight and analysis of sports news, starting with the controversy around Caster Semenya. Read on for the very first article I wrote on the story, on Wed 19 August, when the story broke. Obviously a lot has happened since, and […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.