South Africa’s sports minister said on Friday there would be a “third world war” if Caster Semenya is barred from competing, after a media report that the gold medalist is a hermaphrodite.
“I think it would be the third world war. We will go to the highest levels of contesting such a decision,” sports minister Makhenkesi Stofile told journalists.
Stofile was reacting to a Sydney Daily Telegraph report that cited an unnamed source involved in tests on the world 800m world champion as saying Semenya had both male and female sex organs and no womb or ovaries.
South Africa’s government will carry out its own tests on Semenya before the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) makes a decision in November on the 18-year-old’s case, reported the Sapa news agency.
“We can’t wait for November,” Stofile told the briefing.
The teenager, who grew up in a rural northeast South Africa village, was meant to run a 4km race at the national cross-country championships in Pretoria yesterday but had pulled out, her coach said.
“We have decided that Caster will not run tomorrow,” said Michael Seme, adding that the runner was “not feeling well.”
Athletics officials and Semenya’s family reacted angrily to the article, which follows a media frenzy after the IAAF confirmed Semenya was subject to a sex verification probe before she won the 800m in Berlin last month.
“I’ve raised her as young girl and I have no doubt that she is a girl. As the family, we don’t care who is saying what and we also don’t care, even if she won’t be running internationally, but we will always support her athletic talent,” Semenya’s grandmother Maphuthi Sekgale told the Times newspaper.
The world athletics governing body downplayed any involvement with the report, saying in a statement released on Friday: “We would like to emphasize that these should not be considered as official statements by the IAAF.”
South African President Jacob Zuma took a swipe at the media on Friday, saying it had invaded the teenager’s privacy.
“I think we are faced with an unfortunate situation in this country where we claim to respect privacy and the rights of people, but then we do something that moves against those principles and values,” he said.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) described the reports as “offensive and demeaning”, welcoming Stofile’s saying that legal advice would be sought on the saga.
“The South African government is right to explore all legal ways to protect Caster against violation of her rights,” the ANC said in a statement.
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