Semenya, who is now the centre of attention after winning gold in 800m at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in Berlin on Wednesday night, was certified a girl at her birth on January 7, 1991.

The fracas about her gender has now angered Masetlhong villagers in Moletji outside Polokwane, where Semenya was born and bred.

Eric Modiba, Semenya’s mentor and principal of Nthema Secondary School where she matriculated last year, said it was a matter of “sheer jealousy” that people were raising doubts about her sex now that she has conquered the world.

“Caster is a girl and the school has never had doubts about her gender.

“To top it all, she is straight and has never entertained issues of lesbianism,” he said.

Modiba said Semenya, like any girl, used to associate with both males and females in and outside school.

“She used to be a good soccer player, though she was an average pupil in class,” he said, adding that Semenya was a “very talkative” person who is fond of tsotsitaal.

“That she is a tomboy does not mean that she is a man,” Modiba said.

Her long-time friend Debra Morolong also quashed doubts that Semenya was a man.

“People should not mistake her strong voice and her physique for that of a man. She has always been a girl and did everything that girls did,” said Morolong.

Semenya has been at the centre of gender doubts after Australian athletes challenged her gender following her 800m exploits in which she won both the semi-final and final in Germany.

The IAAF was also forced to conduct physical tests and genital screening to ascertain if indeed Semenya was a girl.