Women have been fighting for the right to participate in the Olympics for some time and more than 80 years ago women were finally permitted to run the 800m at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.
The race was won in a world record time of 2min 16.8sec and at the completion of the event several runners sat on the ground exhausted and/or disappointed.
At the time, this sort of behaviour was considered unfeminine and unaesthetic.
The media and some officials reported seeing the collapse of fainting and delirious women, sweating and panting with open mouths and distorted faces, as proof that women were not equal to the demands of middle-distance events.
Imagine women panting, sweating and distorting their faces.
Despite some brave physicians and officials making assurances the female athletes had experienced the same levels of fatigue and exhaustion as male competitors, the 800m event for women was removed from the Olympics until 1960.
Fast forward 40 years and women are still getting questioned in the same race.
In 2006, 800m runner Santhi Soundarajan handed in a silver medal after failing a gender test at the Asia Games in Doha.
Such was the humiliation that Santhi later attempted suicide.
Now, in 2009, Caster Semenya's sprint from the borders of South Africa to the spotlight of Berlin has raised eyebrows.
Apparently, there was concern about how a young runner could run the fastest 800m this year (1min 56.72sec) at the African junior championships, and then finish more than 2sec ahead of other athletes in Berlin in 1min 55.45sec.
Let's face it. Sport in modern times is becoming more and more a place where freaks can perform.
Usain Bolt finishes way ahead of his competitors while cruising across the finish line demonstrating some kind of gesture.
Is his gender questioned? Is he made to undergo tests by endocrinologists, gynaecologists and clinical psychologists to explain his freakish performance?Some are brave enough to suggest doping may be involved, but generally everyone believes that, genetically, Bolt is exceptional.
And then there is Michael Phelps.
Another freak, but this time his arena for demonstrating his talents is aquatic.
So freakish is Phelps that he can beat all the other un-naturally aided polyurethane swimmers and win eight gold medals.
His exceptional performance is explained away by genetics, ADHD, his extreme diet and workout regime.
Wherever you turn in modern sport there are individuals who push the boundaries and make you wonder if their brilliance is due to some kind of performance-enhancing substance or technology, or because nature has imbued them with more fast twitch fibres, more flexible joints, a bigger lung capacity, more red blood cells or - heaven forbid - more testosterone than is considered normal.
Even though society categorises people into two distinct groups, in reality there are many individuals who blur the boundaries.
Did you know that one in 1000 babies is born with the intersex condition where the combination of chromosomes and hormones doesn't fit neatly into the male-female dichotomy?To cast further doubt on Caster's legitimacy as a female, the media have focused on the fact that she used to play rough with the boys, never wore a skirt (shock, horror), didn't have time for boyfriends, studies sport science, loves professional wrestling, has a deep voice and narrow hips and perhaps a hint of facial hair.
I know plenty of women who have one or more of these symptoms.
Heck, that is why we have terms like tomboy, or why so many female athletes are considered butch for wanting to actually play sport, and why the beauty and fashion industry exist as we try to shape and mould our genders to represent the appropriate level of femininity.
For now, I'm going to enjoy the sensational performance of Caster and imagine how proud her family and community must be.
Caster is a freak of nature and modern sport celebrates freaks of nature all the time.
