The head of South African athletics was today suspended after he admitted lying about gender tests conducted on the world champion athlete Caster Semenya. Leonard Chuene, the president of Athletics South Africa , was relieved of his duties by South Africa's Olympic governing body pending a disciplinary investigation.
Semenya, 18, won gold in the women's 800 metres at this summer's world championships in Berlin but her triumph was overshadowed when it emerged that the International Association of Athletics Federations had ordered her to undergo gender tests. Chuene later claimed he lied about his knowledge of the tests to protect Semenya's privacy. Despite calls for his resignation, he received a vote of confidence from ASA.
However, it emerged last month that a report by the doctor of the South African athletics team, Harold Adams, accused Chuene of deliberately politicising and sowing confusion in the gender test debacle. The ASA also came under fierce criticism recently from an African National Congress task force that included Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, ex-wife of the former president Nelson Mandela. It said ASA had performed "dismally" and should apologise for lying to the president and the country.
Sascoc, South Africa's Olympic governing body, suspended Chuene, the board of ASA and its members "with immediate effect pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation and further action" over their handling of the Semenya saga, the body's website said. Sascoc also said it is considering "taking appropriate action against the IAAF for its disregard of Semenya's rights to privacy", following intense worldwide media speculation over her gender.
ASA, meanwhile, said it accepted the task team's findings and issued an apology to Semenya. A statement said: "Athletics South Africa wishes to publicly and unconditionally apologise to Caster Semenya and her family, the president of South Africa as well as to all South Africans for the handling of her gender verification processes and the subsequent aftermath."
It added: "ASA's board will lead a delegation to meet with Caster, her family and government for discussions on the matter. Athletics South Africa hopes that this will bring closure to a very unpleasant episode for Caster."
There have been reports that Semenya was devastated by the affair and unable to complete her exams, but Madikizela-Mandela told the Guardian recently that Semenya was "extremely relaxed and happy", adding: "She seems to have found her own way of dealing with the quagmire."
The results of the IAAF gender tests are still to be announced.
