Gender results for Caster Semenya to be kept confidential

An African woman wins the 800-meter race at the track and field world championships, far outpacing international competition. Months before, at the African Juniors Championships, she shaved seven seconds from her fastest 2008 time. Caster Semenya was on track to become the next super athlete, garnering international praise and global attention for African athletics outside of distance runs.

Semenya instead became the center of the most misogynist controversy of the decade. She could not possibly be an African woman, her competitors claimed. She must be a man. The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) agreed. Look at her thighs, six pack, and muscular arms. What many would imagine an African man to be.

The IAAF ordered a series of genetic tests to determine Semenya's sex, threatening to strip her of her title should results come back as they expected. A call for confirmation in such a public and humiliating manner would not have been exhorted had Semenya not been Semenya. But her thighs and jagged jaw bones...

Today, the South African sports ministry announced that the results are in. Caster Semenya's birth gender has been confirmed as... confidential. The runner will keep her 800-meter gold medal and prize money from the world championships. The results of her test will remain confidential under doctor-patient trust. The IAAF was expected to announce the results on Friday.

"Whatever scientific tests were conducted legally within the IAAF regulations will be treated as a confidential matter between patient and doctor," the sports ministry said. "As such there will be no public announcement of what the panel of scientists has found. We urge all South Africans and other people to respect this professional ethical and moral way of doing things."

The fruits of the IAAF's labors will forever be sealed, allowing her to keep her earned title; but Semenya's career has already been stripped of its sweet beginnings. Due to the IAAF's irresponsible response to the eligibility of its athletes, Semenya's gender will always be called into question—a mark just as jarring to her career as her appearance is to her competitors.