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South Africans rally for gender controversy runner

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-25 19:11

JOHANNESBURG: Some 1,000 fans sang and danced at the airport Tuesday in support of Caster Semenya as the runner, who is undergoing gender testing after her 800-meter win at the world championships, returned home to South Africa.

Caster Semenya of South Africa displays her medal during the awards ceremony for the women's 800 metres at the world athletics championships at the Olympic stadium in Berlin August 20, 2009.[Agencies]

Semenya arrived on a flight from Germany with other members of the South African team after competing in Berlin. The 18-year-old, dressed in her team tracksuit with her gold medal around her neck, then was brought to a stage set up in the parking lot where she was surrounded by family.

Semenya's victory came after world athletics officials said they were conducting gender tests after questions arose about her muscular build and deep voice.

South Africans have embraced her achievement, despite the questions. A homemade poster held by a fan at the airport declared Semenya "our first lady of sport."

Semenya's parents were among the crowd gathered at the airport. Her mother, speaking in Pedi, told journalists she was proud, brushing aside questions about whether Semenya should be allowed to compete in women's races.

Semenya is not accused of trying to cheat, but of perhaps unknowingly having a medical condition that blurs her gender and gives her an unfair advantage over other female runners.

Fans organized by women's rights groups and political groups, school sports teams, and some who came on their own, ringed the balcony overlooking the arrivals hall. Others danced, sang or blew the plastic horns known as vuvuzelas more commonly seen at soccer matches.

Related readings:  Semenya receives medal for 800 win  Controversial Semenya storms to 800m victory  South Africa shine in World Cup trial run  Track star to undergo gender test In runner's village, no doubts on her gender

Yvonne Maake, a 21-year-old holding a mini vuvuzela and wearing a yellow Team South Africa jersey, said she came with her family from nearby Tembisa "to welcome our champion, Caster. We want to show her support and that we love her, so she can be proud."

Sewela Mabusela, an education specialist from the University of Zululand, was on her way to Belfast, and was glad her trip coincided with Semenya's return. She balanced on a stack of luggage on a trolley to get a better view.

"I want to see her, I want to hear how she feels," Mabusela, 40, said. "I want to see interviews with her so she can tell her side of the story about what happened."

The IAAF, track and field's governing body, will decide Semenya's case according to whether her "conditions ... accord no advantage over other females" after consulting a gynecologist, an endocrinologist, a psychologist, an internal medicine specialist and a gender expert.

Her genes and physiology as well as how she sees herself and how she is seen by her community could play a role in their determination.

South Africans have been outraged not just that questions have been raised, but that they have been made public.

On Sunday, Lamine Diack, the IAAF president, said the affair was handled badly.

"I deeply regret that confidentiality was breached in this case and that the IAAF were forced into a position of having to confirm that gender testing was being carried out on this young athlete," Diack told reporters in Berlin. "It is a regrettable matter and I have requested an internal inquiry to ensure that procedures are tightened up and this never happens again."