Semenya set to keep medal
Thursday, 19 November 2009Caster Semenya will keep the gold medal she won at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, South Africa's Department of Sport and Recreation said on Thursday.
The 18-year-old is currently waiting to hear whether she can continue competing as a woman after being asked to undergo gender tests - the IAAF yesterday insisted an announcement was not imminent.
She will definitely keep the medal she won last summer, however.
'Because Caster has been found to be innocent of any wrong, she will then retain her gold medal, retain her title of 800m world champion, retain her prize money,' the department said in a statement.
This was agreed upon during deliberations between the government, the IAAF and Semenya's lawyer.
The IAAF said: 'The IAAF, the South African ministry of sport and recreation and Caster Semenya's representatives have been and still are in discussions with a view to resolving the issues surrounding Caster Semenya's participation in athletics.
'The IAAF will not comment upon the medical aspects of Caster Semenya's case. The medical testing of the athlete is still to be completed.
'There will be no discussion of Caster Semenya's case at the forthcoming IAAF council meeting to be held in Monaco on 20-21 November 2009. No further comment will be made on this subject until further notice.'
Semenya burst onto the world scene this year but was at the centre of huge controversy in Berlin when it was revealed the IAAF had ordered her to take a gender test.
