Other Sport
'They want to destroy Caster'
2009-09-10 22:24
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Wilhelm de Swardt and Sport24Cape Town - Athletics South Africa (ASA) president Leonard Chuene has blasted a report by the Daily Telegraph in Australia which claimed that Caster Semenya's gender test results showed that she has no womb or ovaries.
"This is a sinister agenda to destroy that little girl," Chuene told eNews.
He said he won't debate the rumours emanating from the report but will go as far as to defend the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Chuene said it's the newspaper that is responsible for latest claims that include Semenya possibly being stripped of her gold medal won in the 800m world championships held in Berlin last month.
Apart from being shocked, he said he is "really disgusted" with the report and pointed out that the IAAF have clearly stated that the conclusive test results will only be available in November.
The report said that Semenya will apparently be advised to undergo an operation as soon as possible, since her condition entails very serious dangers to her health. Also, Semenya has internal testicles which produce testosterone and she is believed to have three times the amount of testosterone in her body than that of other female athletes.
The Daily Telegraph quoted a well-informed source close to the IAAF, who said that their investigation shows proof that Semenya is a hermaphrodite.
"The IAAF's problem is that it has the entire ANC and the whole of South Africa on its case. Everything that is done, must be done exactly by the book, and it has to be beyond any suspicion," said the source.
Earlier on Thursday the secretary general of the IAAF, Pierre Weiss, told AFP that it's clear that she (Semenya) is a woman, but perhaps not 100 percent female which could possibly give her an advantage when competing.
Weiss said Semenya's case will be discussed at an executive board meeting from November 20-21, and that until then, the IAAF is not willing to disclose any information regarding the case.
Semenya will then also know if she still has a future as an international athlete.
"We still don't have all the results," said Weiss.
"The results which are at our disposal, must be submitted to experts for evaluation. Our dilemma is whether to use experts from outside the IAAF, or whether we should allow our own medical committee to do the evaluation, or whether it should be done by both."
According to Weiss, the IAAF could be prevented from disclosing the results of the tests performed on Semenya by the regulations of medical confidentiality.
Semenya will address the media on Saturday at a news conference at the University of Pretoria's High Performance Centre.
Weiss said this is the eighth gender investigation by the IAAF since 2005. Four of the athletes were asked to retire from athletics.