From the opulent Monte Carlo offices of the IAAF (track and field's international governing body) reverberates yet another echo of a simple statement made last September: "Patience, Ms. Semenya..."
For a girl noted as the world's fastest in her discipline (800m), patience may not be an easy pill to swallow.
Indeed, the 2009 800m world champion, Caster Semenya of South Africa, has until now reluctantly complied with the IAAF's wishes and not competed since.
The long delay has revolved around Semenya's much publicized and dignity-shattering gender issue: whether or not she can compete as a woman. Instead of settling the matter quickly and privately, the IAAF has sat on the pot for over six months, refusing to render a decision.
Meanwhile, the rest of the athletics world has already begun testing itself against the best the sport has to offer, as Semenya feverishly gnashes at the starting gate.
While the IAAF has allowed the South African to keep her medals and prize money and has not explicitly banned her from competition, they have effectively paralyzed her with periodic promises of a "speedy" resolution.
Apparently not as speed...
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