Lady looks like a dude or is a dude?

[broberfett]

Have you seen this story about the South African female(?) runner? She wins by a mile. I notice that she looks very manly. She is the only one wearing long shorts. I also notice that every other runner looks female, except the runner in question.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/wor...ender-test-hours-World-Championship-race.html

 

[Amaris]

1) Daily Mail. - About as reliable as the National Enquirer.
2) While the possibility does exist that she is male, I personally think she is female.


J.

 

[Australis]

Might be female, but I'd be looking at steroid abuse - look at the muscles on her arms!

 

[Trekker4747]

Might be female, but I'd be looking at steroid abuse - look at the muscles on her arms!

That and she has no hips.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Someone ought to do the "Crocodile Dundee" test on "her".

 

[Trekker4747]

Someone ought to do the "Crocodile Dundee" test on "her".

"He's from Australia."

"I really must visit there!"

 

[Star Wolf]

Could be one of those genetic freaks of nature who are born with both sets of genitalia and has a female set assigned soon after birth. What would the sports authorities do it those cases? Have top female athletes through history been those cases?

 

[farmkid]

Could be one of those genetic freaks of nature who are born with both sets of genitalia and has a female set assigned soon after birth. What would the sports authorities do it those cases? Have top female athletes through history been those cases?

The advantage comes not from the Y chromosome, but from testosterone. If a male with ambiguous genitalia was assigned female at birth, they would grow up without testosterone and would not develop the normal strength and other physical abilities of men. So no, I don't think so. Women do produce some testosterone, however, so it may be that those top female athletes naturally produce more than the average amount of testosterone. It would be kind of like being on steroids, but without the injections expulsion from sports.

 

[JonathonWally]

So no, I don't think so. Women do produce some testosterone, however, so it may be that those top female athletes naturally produce more than the average amount of testosterone. It would be kind of like being on steroids, but without the injections expulsion from sports.

Or their bodies could have an issue with estrogen. Hormone receptors could block estrogen intake or some other hormonal in-balance issue.

 

[M'Sharak]

Might be female, but I'd be looking at steroid abuse - look at the muscles on her arms!

That and she has no hips.

Which isn't really proof of anything.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

She's a faaaaaaaaaake!

 

[Dorian Thompson]

If that's a female, she definitely has some sort of hormonal condition or problem. I'd never guess that was a female from looking at her. She looks very much like a male.

 

[Geckothan]

She's a faaaaaaaaaake!

 

[broberfett]

She's a faaaaaaaaaake!

I concur whole-heartedly.

 

[Rii]

The musculature around her knees says "female" to me.

 

[Kestra]

Poor thing, being scrutinized like that. I hope the controversy is put to an end soon.

 

[Etched]

^Sadly the tests are going to take weeks rather than days to complete so this isn't going away anything soon.

I'm really rather appalled by the way that the IAAF have handled this. Obviously should doubt arise as to the gender of an athlete then action needs to be taken but it should be done discreetly and tactfully not like this.

If an athlete fails a dope test their names are not made public until the b sample is tested and they are proven to have done something wrong, surely it should have been the same here. They could have quietly performed these tests and only have made a statement if they revealed anything untoward as it is they have publicly humiliated an 18 year old girl who may well be perfectly innocent.

 

[Deckerd]

I wholly agree with Etched. The IAAF have completely bollixed this up. As Michael Johnson said yesterday, they are quite right to check this athlete if there is any question about her gender. However to make it public like this is utterly humiliating, especially since they would never do this in a doping scandal until all the tests were in. To do it before her final race is unforgiveable. The IAAF have admitted on record that she has done no wrong and the problem, if there is one, is medical.

 

[broberfett]

Didn't they always openly discuss doping charges against Lance Armstrong and the dude that lost the prize in the Tour de France before the tests were even done? The subject always comes up when one athlete wins by a huge margin or beats their old time by a gigantic margin. The pictures show that the person in question was way ahead of the 2nd place runner by a tremendous distance. She does look like a dude. I'm thinking that if he didn't wear the long shorts then Mr.Winky would have made an appearance.

 

[JustKate]

I don't see anything particularly manly about her. A lot of those runners have small hips - that's one of the reasons they can run faster than average (or so I've read). And lots of women, particularly runners, have pretty flat chests, too. And of course they're muscular - they're athletes. I've seen similar builds on women out here in real life.

And I agree this is just invasive. If there's a real problem, let the public and the competitor know ASAP; if there's not, leave her alone.