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AP Exclusive: IOC recommends gender-test centers
The International Olympic Committee is recommending the establishment of special medical centers to deal with athletes who have ambiguous sexual characteristics.
The IOC also wants rules put in place by sports bodies to determine their eligibility to compete on a "case by case" basis when gender is called into question.
The IOC organized a two-day conference with medical specialists in Miami to consider guidelines for handling sex-verification cases. The issue gained global attention last year when South African runner Caster Semenya was ordered to undergo gender tests.
The case of Semenya, who won the women's 800 meters in August at the world championships in Berlin, was not dealt with directly in the closed meetings Sunday and Monday. But it helped focus the need for clarity on the issue of whether an athlete competes as a man or a woman.
"We did not discuss any particular case," IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. "We explored the science of all these matters. We established several important points based on up-to-date science and global expertise. Now we have the scientific basis for going further."
The IOC will consult with lawyers and its own athletes' commission to help establish specific guidelines.
Lincecum asks for $13 million in arbitration
San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum asked for $13 million in salary arbitration, a record for a player eligible for the first time,
On the busiest day of baseball's offseason, 71 players eligible for arbitration reached agreements on contracts, leaving just 38 still on track for hearings next month.
Lincecum is seeking the richest contract ever awarded in arbitration, surpassing the $10 million that Alfonso Soriano (2006) and Francisco Rodriguez (2008) received in losses and Ryan Howard won at a hearing in 2008. Howard's request had been the highest ever for a player in his first year of eligibility.
San Francisco offered $8 million to Lincecum, 40-17 with a 2.90 ERA since he was brought up early in the 2007 season. He won the NL Cy Young Award in his each of first two full seasons, becoming the first repeat winner since Randy Johnson from 1999-02. Lincecum was a bargain for the Giants last year, when he made $650,000.
Also on Tuesday, Lincecum agreed to pay $513 to resolve marijuana charges against him in Washington state. He originally faced two misdemeanor charges of marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession stemming from a traffic stop on Oct. 30. The charges were reduced to a civil infraction.
From AP wire. For more, visit the Associated Press online.