South African athletics officials and women's 800 metres world champion Caster Semenya's family reacted with anger at an Australian newspaper article that the athlete was a hermaphrodite.
South African athletics officials and women's 800 metres world champion Caster Semenya's family reacted with anger at an Australian newspaper article that the athlete was a hermaphrodite.
"Why must jealousy drive people to say such bad things? Why are you bringing all this," said Semenya's mother Dorcus Semanya before hanging up the telephone, reported the Times newspaper on Friday.
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Semenya's grandmother, Maphuthi Sekgale was shocked and angry when the Times newspaper told her about the article.
"I've raised her as young girl and I have not 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," she said.
The reactions come a day after the Daily Telegraph in Sydney reported that gender tests on Semenya have found she is a hermaphrodite.
Athletics SA president Leornado Chuene said: "I'm not shocked by reports that Caster is a hermaphrodite because I knew from the onset that such allegations would be levelled at this youngster."
He said he has been communicating with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) about the matter and was told an official statement regarding the matter will be released in November.
African National Congress member of parliament Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has urged South Africans to come out in support of Semenya,
"I am listening to the news. I'm just extremely hurt by what I am hearing. The poor innocent child is a victim of all this, and it is not of her making," Madikizela-Mandela told The Star.
The IAAF, world athletics' governing body, downplayed any involvement with the report, saying in a statement released on Friday: "We would like to emphasise that these should not be considered as official statements by the IAAF.
"We can officially confirm that gender verification test results will be examined by a group of medical experts. No decision on the case will be communicated until the IAAF has had the opportunity to complete this examination.
"We do not expect to make a final decision on this case before the next meeting of the IAAF Council which takes place in Monaco on November 20-21.
"Please note that there will be no further comments from the IAAF on Caster Semenya until that time."
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