Johannesburg — SA's Olympic body yesterday suspended Leonard Chuene, president of Athletics SA (ASA), its board and members over the handling of 800m world champion Caster Semenya's gender tests.

This was hours after Chuene and ASA "unconditionally" apologised to Semenya for their disastrous handling of the issue.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) said yesterday those suspended would appear before a disciplinary inquiry "to answer charges of bringing ASA, the sport of athletics, Sascoc and sport in general into disrepute".

Sascoc said it was also considering taking action against the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) "for its disregard of Semenya's rights to privacy".

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies was not available for comment.

The world governing body has said medical experts will examine the results of gender tests on Semenya, although a final decision is not expected before a IAAF council meeting in Monaco later this month.

Semenya ran a personal best of one minute 56,72 seconds in July, eight seconds faster than her best time last year.

Because of her rapid improvement, the IAAF began a gender verification process before the August world championships in Berlin, but Semenya was allowed to compete pending the outcome of the tests.

The teenager destroyed the field to take the 800m gold in 1:55,45, the year's fastest time.

No decision on the tests is expected until later this month.

The IAAF decision to test Semenya angered many. Some accused the sport's governing body of racism, saying her broad shoulders and striking musculature were common in women's athletics.

It was later disclosed that ASA conducted gender verification tests on Semenya in SA before she competed in Berlin.

Chuene initially denied the tests had taken place before admitting he had lied, saying he wanted to protect the athlete's privacy.

The apology followed an African National Congress statement that it thought the ASA and its doctor had a case to answer.