That feel-good story comes with a footnote.
Mboma and fellow teen Namibian sprinter Beatrice Masilingi, who finished sixth, both have an intersex condition that results in male-level testosterone.
The pair tested positive in early July for hyperandrogenism after bursting onto the international women’s track scene with sizzling times.
Their levels blocked them from competing in their preferred event, the 400m race, but even so, they were able within a matter of weeks to switch to the women’s 200m, which has no limits on naturally occurring high testosterone under the World Athletics rules.
Bahamas sprinter Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who won gold in the 400m in the 2016 Olympics but finished last in Tuesday’s final, asked afterward why Mboma and Masilingi were permitted under the rules to run in the 200 but not the 400.
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