Semenya Cleared for Women's Races

She has been undergoing 'treatment'
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 6, 2010 3:14 AM CDT
Semenya Cleared for Women's Races
Caster Semenya displays her gold medal after ceremonies for the Women's 800m final at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin nearly a year ago.   (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

The International Association of Athletics Federations has cleared South African runner Caster Semenya to compete in female races following an investigation into her gender, reports the Telegraph. Semenya, 19, hasn't competed since her runaway 800 meter win in the World Championships nearly a year ago while sports authorities made their determination. It's believed that Semenya has been under treatment during that time for an inter-sex condition, which may have an impact on her future performance. She could compete again as early as this month in the World Junior Championships in Canada.

It's likely she'll continue to be medically monitored in future competitions. An announcement on the athletic federations' finding will likely be made this week. South Africa's sports minister announced last month that Semenya was cleared to run, and the teenage runner said she was "overjoyed" the medical teams had come to the "right conclusion." But IAAF officials said then that no such determination had been made, and the process was not yet complete. The investigation into Semenya's gender arose over her strikingly masculine facial appearance and muscular structure, as well as her astonishing performance over her rivals. (More Caster Semenya stories.)

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