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Stella Walsh was one of the first female Olympic heroes--but she could never shake the accusations that she was really a man. The masculine-looking Walsh was born in Poland in 1911 and came to the United States before her first birthday. Naturally gifted at sports, she won track and field contests sponsored by a Cleveland newspaper that were supposed to lead to a place on the 1928 American Olympic team. However, the immigration laws of the era said Walsh could not become an American citizen until the age of 21. She toured her homeland in the early 1930s and became hugely popular. She competed for Poland at the 1932 summer Olympics in Los Angeles and won gold in the women's 100 metres. At the 1936 Olympics she finished second to Helen Stephens, who, ironically, had to undergo a medical examination to prove she was a female. In November 1980, television station WKYC was heavily criticized for airing a story that questioned Walsh's gender. A month later the 69-year-old Walsh was murdered in a botched armed robbery at a Cleveland mall. Through a court order, WKYC obtained the coroner's report to vindicate their earlier claims. It said Walsh had male sex organs, no female sex organs, and both XX and XY pairs of chromosomes.
Tags:
Stella
Walsh
gender
controversy
Added: 1st August 2008
Views: 236
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Posted By: Lava1964 |
 
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Tamara and Irina Press, two sisters from the old Soviet Union, were dominant in women's athletics during the early 1960s. Tamara (pictured here) was virtually unbeatable in shot put. Irina was an excellent pentathlete and a world-record holder in the 80-metre hurdles. The trouble was they didn't look too feminine. Speculation about the sisters' true gender was always present. Some western sports journalists began secretly referring to the Press sisters as the 'Press brothers.' When the governing body of European athletics began instituting gender testing in 1966, instead of complying, the Press sisters vanished from international competition--never to return. Soviet newspapers reported that they had retired from sports to tend to their ailing mother. When Irina died in 2004, several months went by before her death was officially announced.
Tags:
Press
sisters
gender
Added: 23rd August 2008
Views: 150
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Posted By: Lava1964 |
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