Christine Mboma Wins Silver in 200 Meters
Christine Mboma’s silver medal win joins the list of Tokyo Olympics controversial moments. Former Polish sprinter Marcin Urbás called out the Namibian sprinter. Her stellar performance in the Olympic 200-meter race. It follows her ban from the 400-meter race a month prior.
Eligibility requirements reflect tendenances to police women with differences of sexual development (DSD) including XY chromosomes and higher levels of testosterone. These regulations negatively affect African female athletes.
“I want to request a comprehensive test on Mboma to confirm her gender,” Urbaś told Marca, a Spanish sports news outlet.
Mboma’s Genetic Makeup
The Namibian teenage track star has a condition known as hyperandrogenism. The condition leads to a hyperproduction of testosterone in her body. Although Urbás no longer competes professionally, he questions Mboma’s performance. In fact, Mboma did better than he did at the same age.
“The clear advantage of Mboma in terms of testosterone is evident in her physique, movement, technique, as well as her speed and endurance. She possesses the abilities of an 18-year-old male athlete,” Urbaś stated. “At that age, my personal best was 22.01, and she has achieved 21.97 in Tokyo.”
Urbás Condemns Mboma’s Right to Perform
Urbás argues that the Namibian sprinter has an unfair advantage. In his opinion, she should not be able to race against competitors who are “definitely women.”
“With further progress and improvement in her technique, she will soon achieve times of 21.00 seconds in the 200m and 47.00 seconds in the 400m,” he stated. “We strongly believe in fairness and equality, and this is a blatant and unjust treatment towards women who are unquestionably women.”
Unfortunately, Mboma and several other African female athletes are punished for their genetic makeup. On the other hand, white male counterparts like Michael Phelps unapologetically celebrate their successes.
Christine Mboma shared the podium with two other members of the African diaspora. Elaine Thompson-Herah represented Jamaica. She beat Mboma by a slim margin with her winning time of 21.53. Gabrielle Thomas from the United States snagged the bronze medal with a time of 21.87.
The jury is still out on Mboma’s condition. However, the world should celebrate her latest accomplishment on the world stage.