ANC slams SAfrican track body for not firing president who lied about gender tests

SAfrican track slammed for gender-flap inaction

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s ruling party condemned the country’s track body Friday after a board member said they will not fire the track association’s president, who admitted he lied about gender tests done on runner Caster Semenya.

Athletics South Africa board member Chris Britz told The Associated Press that the group “unanimously expressed confidence in the current ASA leadership” and president Leonard Chuene during a meeting on Thursday.

About 60 members of the council met to discuss calls for Chuene’s dismissal after he admitted this month he lied in saying that Semenya had not been given gender tests in South Africa.

The African National Congress criticized the lack of action, saying it had expected ASA to censure all leaders involved in the mishandling of Semenya’s case.

ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said the ASA “failed to rise up to the expectation above, thereby failing the South African public, Caster Semenya and the sporting fraternity.”

He said the party would urge the government to act, but did not say what recommendation they would make.

Thursday’s vote of confidence means Chuene will keep his job, although South African politicians, union leaders, newspaper editorials and other sports bodies have called for him to be fired. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic committee is investigating ASA’s handling of the case.

Britz said not one person at Thursday’s meeting proposed to fire Chuene. The issues raised were in support of Chuene, he said.

Britz said while discussions focused on the Semenya case, “people are not judged on one event.”

He added that Chuene’s legacy of expanding black participation in athletics since the end of apartheid in 1994 bolstered support for him. But he acknowledged the ASA’s reputation has been damaged, and said it would cooperate with the South African Olympic body’s investigation.

Asked what ASA would do if the higher body determined Chuene should go, Britz said: “I can’t really speculate on how that could be dealt with.”

The International Association of Athletics Federations had said before Semenya won the 800-meter final at the world championships in Berlin that it had ordered gender tests because questions had been raised about her muscular physique and stunning improvement in times. Gender tests are usually kept confidential, and the IAAF has been criticized in South Africa and abroad for going public in Semenya’s case.

The IAAF is reviewing Semenya’s test results and plans to issue a decision in November on whether she will be allowed to compete. The IAAF refused to confirm or deny Australian media reports that Semenya has both male and female characteristics.