According to Julius Malema, the African National Congress Youth League leader, ‘The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) decision to test Semenya is racist and sexist’. One cannot blame anyone to be annoyed at what has gone on. But it is not racism or sexism, it is downright disgraceful behaviour from the IAAF and jealousy from those that were beaten especially the Italian and Russian competitors who are quoted of saying “For me she is not a woman,” Furthermore it is offensive, hurtful and humiliating to a young superb athlete of this calibre, who has outrun her rivals in a world champoinship by over two seconds, when normally the difference between the first three is 100th of a second. The IAAF has certainly let this athlete down.

Zapiro’s Sunday Times cartoon of the 23rd August 2009 gets it right.

For more Zapiro cartoons visit www.zapiro.com

Almost everything about the issue is fuzzy: Where does one draw the biological line between male and female, exactly what standard is used by the track authorities in deeming a female ineligible to compete as a woman, precisely what tests answer such questions. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has asked for reports that will take weeks to review - from a gynecologist, an endocrinologist, a psychologist, a specialist in internal medicine and a gender expert.