Athlete Tosses Medals She Won When Finding Out She's Really a Man

Friday, March 13, 2009

China: Chengdu resident Xiao Nan, who recently discovered through hospital tests that she's really male, has tossed out 30 of 40 medals won while competing in athletic events.

Said Xiao, "Being a champion was never a happy thing to me. Standing on the podium made me feel guilty, and I always thought the real champion should have been the one standing next to me." The wins provided free university education and great honor.

"I felt I often had an impulse or desire for women instead of men. And my body is more like a man than a woman," said Xiao, who has male chromosomes. A nine-month course of sex change surgeries has now been undertaken.