A furious South African sports minister today threatened the athletics governing body with “world war” should it ban Caster Semenya from international competition after reports that the 800m world champion is a hermaphrodite.
Makhenkesi Stofile accused the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) of leaking gender test results on Semenya to the media.
“It is very, very clear to us that Caster’s human rights are not being respected at all,” the minister said.
“Neither Caster nor her family deserve this kind of humiliation. None of them has done anything wrong. This is as disgusting as it is unethical.”
Mr Stofile, whose main mandate is to ensure that South Africa’s international sports teams reflect the country’s racial make-up, called the meeting with reporters after the Australian Daily Telegraphreported that tests revealed Semenya has internal testes and no womb or ovaries.
A source told the Telegraph: “There certainly is evidence Semenya is a hermaphrodite, but the trouble is the IAAF now have the whole ANC and the whole of South Africa on their backs.”
Mr Stofile said that the Government had not seen the test results, which the IAAF was planning to release in November. “What does it [the test results] matter? The issue is not whether she’s a hermaphrodite or not. She’s a girl,” he said.
Asked how South Africa would react if the IAAF ruled that Semenya could no longer compete against women, he said: “I think it will be the third world war. Such a decision would be totally unfair and unjust.”
