Speculation about the gender of South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya - currently competing in the IAAF World Championships in Berlin - has continued unabated today since these rumours first surfaced when she broke onto the scene earlier this year

Whether Semenya should be allowed to continue to compete under such a cloud of uncertainty or not is perhaps a discussion for a different forum, but what has been confirmed is that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has conducted physical tests as well as genetic screening to try to determine Semenya's sex.

Unfortunately the results to these tests will not be made available for a few weeks yet and until then, Semenya will continue to compete.

That begs the question though: How exactly are such tests done? Would a simple peek down her pants not prove definitive one way or another?

Apparently not.

Sporting organisations have long struggled to determine with 100 percent accuracy the gender of a competitor who has come under this particular spotlight.

The first known case of gender uncertainty in track and field athletics occurred during the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games when Polish-born American Stella Walsh (born Stanislawa Walasiewicz) won gold in the women's 100m sprint after equaling the world record on three separate occasions during the Games.

After the athlete was killed during a shooting at a Cleveland shopping centre, the resulting autopsy revealed Walsh had male genitals but both female and male chromosomes. This condition is known as mosaicism.

Medical examinations were first introduced in 1966 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). During such examinations, doctors visually examined athletes to ensure they were indeed female.

This, however, was far from a perfect science.

Amidst speculation that they were men, Russian sisters Tamara and Irina Press quit the sport when these medical exams were brought in.

"There were all sorts of rumours that they were men," according to human kinetics expert Jim Rupert.

"Well, I doubt that they were men. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they may have been intersexed individuals and were afraid they would be treated as men and kicked out, or they just felt that really wasn’t the world’s business."

These medical exams didn't remain mandatory for long, and in 1968, the IOC abolished them completely and brought in the Barr-body test.

The Barr-body test was a far more scientific approach and looked for a second X chromosome.

For those who do not know, males have one X and one Y chromosome, while women have two X chromosomes.

This seems like an infallible test; however women with 'Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome' (CAIS) failed the test. Women with CAIS have the outer appearance of a female but internal testes and thus also a Y chromosome.

During the 1980s, the Barr-body test was dropped as well and the SRY test adopted, which looks for a particular gene on the Y chromosome. In layman's terms, a person with XY chromosome but CAIS produces testosterone but no receptor proteins; therefore they do not develop male characteristics.

However, androgen insensitive women still failed the SRY test, resulting in the IOC to drop sex testing altogether in 2000.

According to Rupert, females with a Y chromosome are far more likely to have a natural advantage over females with the standard two X chromosomes though.

"Androgen insensitivity syndrome is 50 to 100 times more common in these athletes than it is in the background population. The only reason I have for that is it does in fact improve your performance."

In essence however, the IOC and sex testing in athletes were just about back at square one, prompting the IOC Medical Commission to meet in 2003 and compiled the Stockholm Consensus.

This controversial document outlines the regulations for athletes who have undergone gender reassignment from male-to-female must meet in order to compete against other women.

These were the findings of the Stockholm Consensus:

  • "Any individuals undergoing sex reassignment of male to female before puberty should be regarded as girls and women (female).

  • "This applies as well for female to male reassignment, who should be regarded as boys and men (male).

  • "The group recommends that individuals undergoing sex reassignment from male to female after puberty (and the converse) be eligible for participation in female or male competitions, respectively, under the following conditions:

  • Surgical anatomical changes have been completed, including external genitalia changes and gonadectomy.

  • Legal recognition of their assigned sex has been conferred by the appropriate official authorities.

  • Hormonal therapy appropriate for the assigned sex has been administered in a verifiable manner and for a sufficient length of time to minimise gender-related advantages in sport competitions."

    In short, males who become a female before puberty are allowed to compete against women under the 'Stockholm Consensus'. If the sex change occurs after puberty though, the athlete must have their genitals changed, obtain legal recognition of such a sex change as well as and undergo at least two years of hormone therapy to minimize any advantages obtained from their previous gender.

    Therein lies the problem though. Many transgendered athletes either lack access to or choose not to undergo hormonal treatment or sex reassignment surgery and are thus excluded. It also rejects transgendered athletes who are citizens of nations who do not legally recognize sex-change recipients.”

    So where does this leave Semenya?

    Until the results of the tests the IAAF have conducted are known, she must surely be given the benefit of the doubt and supported in the same manner any other South African competitor would be.

    In fact, I think she should be supported even more vociferously now amidst the controversy surrounding her. Wednesday night is without a doubt the biggest night of her life and it cannot be easy for her to be at the centre of such a hullabaloo.

    She is still only 18 and at her first big international meeting and needs all of our support.
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