Connect with us

Sports

South African athlete, Caster Semenya, said she offered to strip naked before World Athletics officials to prove she is female

Published

3 years ago

on

May 26, 2022

By

Africa News Watch

South African double Olympic 800m champion, Caster Semenya, has revealed that she once offered to strip naked and show her vagina to officials of the World Athletics Federation when she was 18 years of age to prove she was female.

The 31-year-old South African middle-distance champion said in an interview on Wednesday that when she first burst into the scene in 2009 by after winning the women’s 800m world title in a stunning fashion, the world athletics governing body doubted her gender and insisted she should undergo gender verification tests.

“They thought I had a d***, probably… but I told them: ‘It’s fine. I’m a female, I don’t care. If you want to see I’m a woman, I will show you my vagina. All right?’” Semenya recalled shortly after winning the women’s 800m world title at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Semenya has a condition known as hyperandrogenism, which is characterised by higher than the usual levels of testosterone, a hormone that increases muscle mass and strength and the body’s ability to use oxygen.

Gender tests conducted on the athlete have shown that Semenya has no womb or ovaries but that she had internal testes, the male sexual organs which produce testosterone, and her levels of the hormone were three times that of a “normal” female.

In 2011, she was forced to take medication after a ruling by World Athletics, followed by an injunction by the International Association of Athletics Federations that all female athletes with hyperandrogenism had to medically lower their testosterone levels.

“It made me sick, made me gain weight, panic attacks, I don’t know if I was ever going to have a heart attack.

“It’s like stabbing yourself with a knife every day. But I had no choice.

“I’m 18, I wanted to run, I wanted to make it to Olympics, that was the only option for me,” Semenya said in the interview.

In 2020, Semenya lost her appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal to set aside a 2019 Court of Arbitration Sport (CAS) ruling that female athletes with high natural testosterone levels must take medication to reduce it.

She had approached the tribunal after CAS, sport’s highest court, ruled that the regulations of World Athletics were necessary for athletes with DSDs in races ranging from 400 metres to a mile to ensure fair competition.

Related Topics:Athletics Featured Olympics Semenya Caster South Africa

Continue Reading

Click to comment

Sports

FIFA Ranking: Nigeria ends 2024 as fifth best team in Africa

Published

2 days ago

on

December 20, 2024

By

Isaac Dachen

Nigeria’s men’s football national team, the Super Eagles, ended the year 2024 as the fifth best team in Africa in the latest FIFA world ranking for the month of December.

According to the rankings published by the world football governing body, Nigeria remains unchanged from its previous position, despite having a challenging international break.

The FIFA rankings also reveal that Nigeria suffered a significant decline this year, dropping eight places to end 2024 ranked 44th globally.

The decline follows disappointing performances during the final AFCON qualifiers for 2025, where the Super Eagles struggled against the Benin Republic and Rwanda, resulting in a lack of wins.

However, some of the Super Eagles bitter rivals like South Africa’s Bafana Bafana experienced a resurgence, climbing three positions to finish the year ranked 57th in the world, showing a marked improvement in their recent form and successful matches during the qualifiers.

It was a woeful year for West African rivals Ghana who ended the year in 77th position, which highlights the challenges the Black Stars have encountered in the outgoing year in its bid to maintain its positions among Africa’s elite teams.

Meanwhile, the Moroccan national football team, the Atlas Lion, retained its 14th position in the in the world while still maintaining its number one spot in Africa, holding the first position for the third year in a row.

In the world ranking, Morocco is followed by Senegal on 17th position, Egypt, 33rd, Algeria 37th, Nigeria, 44th, Côte d’Ivoire, 46th, Cameroon, 49th, Mali, 51st, and Tunisia in the 52nd position.

Top 10 African teams in 2024

1. Morocco – (14th)

2. Senegal – (17th)

3. Egypt – (33rd)

4. Algeria – (37th)

5. Nigeria – (44th)

6. Côte d’Ivoire – (46th)

7. Cameroon – (49th)

8. Mali – (51st )

9. Tunisia – (52nd)

10. South Africa – (57th)

Continue Reading

Sports

Nigeria’s Lookman, Zambia’s Banda big winners at 2024 CAF Award

Published

5 days ago

on

December 17, 2024

By

Isaac Dachen

Nigerian sensation, Ademola Lookman, has wrapped his footballing year with another win after being declared as the Men’s Footballer of the Year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Lookman, who plays for Italian club side Atalanta, was the biggest winner at the star-studded 2024 CAF Awards in Marrakech following 12 months with Italian side Atalanta and the Nigerian Super Eagles. He follows in the footsteps of compatriot Victor Osimhen, who claimed the award in 2023.

This is the first time Nigeria has had consecutive men’s award winners since nearly thirty years, when Nwankwo Kanu (1996) and Victor Ikpeba (1997) were awarded.

Other top African achievers recognized for their exploits during the event include South Africa’s Ronwen Williams and Zambia’s Barbra Banda. Banda was instrumental in leading Orlando Pride to the NWSL Shield and Championship in the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season in the United States. She scored the game-winning goal in the final against Washington Spirit.

Other winners include Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie, who won Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award for the second year in a row after another impressive season for French side Paris FC.

Sanaâ Mssoudy, a forward for AS FAR and Morocco, received the Women’s Interclub Player of the Year award after winning the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League Best Player title. Agile box-to-box midfielder, Lamine Camara of Senegal and Monaco, won the Men’s Young Player of the Year award for his outstanding performances for both club and country.

Doha El Madani, a 19-year-old Moroccan and AS FAR player, won the Women’s Young Player of the Year award after scoring six goals in five games to win the Golden Boot at the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League.

See the full winners list below:

2024 CAF AWARDS WINNERS

CAF PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ademola Lookman (Nigeria / Atalanta)

CAF PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Barbra Banda (Zambia / Orlando Pride)

CAF GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)

CAF GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria / Paris FC)

CAF INTERCLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)

CAF INTERCLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Sanaâ Mssoudy (Morocco / AS FAR)

CAF YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Lamine Camara (Senegal / AS Monaco)

CAF YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Doha El Madani (Morocco / AS FAR)

CAF COACH OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Emerse Fae (Cote d’Ivoire)

CAF COACH OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Lamia Boumehdi (TP Mazembe)

CAF NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Cote d’Ivoire

CAF NATIONAL TEAM OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Nigeria

CAF CLUB OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Al Ahly (Egypt)

CAF CLUB OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
TP Mazembe (DR Congo)

CAF REFEREE OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Mutaz Ibrahim (Libya)

CAF REFEREE OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco)

CAF ASSISTANT REFEREE OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue (Cameroon)

CAF ASSISTANT REFEREE OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Diana Chikotesha (Zambia)

CAF GOAL OF THE YEAR
Mabululu (Angola)

Continue Reading

VenturesNow1 day ago

Moroccan annual inflation rises to 0.8% in November

Metro2 days ago

Zambian law association kicks over suspension of two members

Nigerian activist remanded in prison for threatening President’s son

Musings From Abroad1 day ago

Swiss company Mercuria partners Zambia’s IDC in new metals trading firm