Ethiopian female athlete labeled as male and result was cancelled.
In a recent radio show, Alemneh Wase, a radio host at the Fana Radio, relates the story of one gifted female Ethiopian Athlete who he named her “Gete” whom some 10 years ago scored a major result in the country’s short distance running history. But, before long, that wonderful result that she scored got cancelled which gave the young Athlete a devastating blow.
Alemneh knows Gete personally before this incident. She is a tomboy kind of girl who always wears male dresses. But all the same, Alemneh believes that she is female. Therefore, he wrote a magazine article denouncing the cancellation of her result. But immediately, another article is written on the Sunday issue of the Amharic daily Addis Zemen that criticizes his claim and accuses the Athlete to be a fraud.
As the conflict intensifies the Athlete approaches Alemneh with a photograph proof of her that clearly depict that she is a female. Then with the Athlete herself and the photograph evidence, both goes to the then editor in chief of the Addis Zemen newspaper, the late Demessie Tsige. But the editor in chief is not convinced by the photograph evidence since it can well be faked.
Instead he told them that a medical doctor’s report is all that is needed to seal the case once and for all. After this, Alemneh hasn’t contacted the Athlete for about 10 years till he accidentally met her at a factory where she is now a worker there.
Then he finally, once again, raised that old question of her gender; though, as he said, not have the slightest doubt about her being a female. But at this time, there comes a shadow of grief on the face of the Athlete where that reflected too on him. Finally he understood the case: Though she is a female, as he believed her to be, he now knows that there are some signs on her that goes well with the claim of the doctor who at the beginning made her result cancelled. With all those signs as some said to be ‘the mistake of nature’ on her, he still believes that she is a female Athlete of unique talent.
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