The South African government today renewed its attack on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) over its handing of the Caster Semenya affair, saying that the athlete's human rights have been violated.
Makhenkesi Stofile, the sports and recreation minister, said that Semenya and her family maintain she was gender-tested without her consent and that lawyers were being consulted over possible action.
Stofile added that he had written to the IAAF to demand an apology and to seek a response to reports in Australia claiming that the women's 800m world champion is a hermaphrodite.
The Sydney Daily Telegraph claims that gender tests ordered by the IAAF found the 18-year-old has both male and female sexual characteristics. Its report quoted a source claiming that Semenya, who won the women's 800 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin last month, has no womb or ovaries but has internal testes that produce a high level of testosterone.
Stofile said he regarded the reports with "shock and disgust". He said he had not yet received a reply from the IAAF, which distanced itself from the story. It responded: "The IAAF can state that statements in the Australian press should be treated with caution as they are not official statements by the IAAF.
"We have received the results from Germany, but they now need to be examined by a group of experts and we will not be in a position to speak to the athlete about them for at least a few weeks. After that, depending on the results, we will meet privately with the athlete to discuss further action."
The IAAF confirmed it will not comment further on Semenya until after the organisation's council meeting in Monaco on 20-21 November. The athlete appeared to be lying low today. Her coach, Michael Seme, said he was now uncertain whether she would compete as planned in the 4,000m at the South African national cross-country championships in Pretoria tomorrow.
