RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Olympic Games is running into a storm of controversy involving Caster Semenya, the favorite in the women's 800 meters. The South African, the unwilling face of track's ethical and medical dilemma over women with high levels of testosterone, sharply divides opinion — even among fellow competitors.
After qualifying comfortably on Wednesday for the 800 semifinals, Semenya strode past reporters without talking. Her competitors had plenty to say. Some embraced the 25-year-old as just another competitor, while others said they'd rather see women in her situation in separate races.
Suspicions among fellow competitors that Semenya isn't the only 800-meter runner in Rio de Janeiro believed to be hyperandrogenic — a condition that can cause women to produce unusually elevated levels of testosterone — are adding extra urgency to the debate, especially with Olympic medals on the line.