**Controversial world champion athlete Caster Semenya is set to receive a heroine’s welcome in Johannesburg.**South Africans have rallied behind Ms Semenya, who was asked to take a gender test just hours before wining the 800m final in Berlin last week.
The ruling ANC’s youth wing says it will lead a “mass delegation” to the OR Tambo International Airport.
The ANC Youth League accused the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) of racism.
“We must celebrate our athlete’s victory despite the attempts by racist institutions to undermine what she has achieved. We are proud of her,” ANCYL’s national spokesperson Floyd Shivambu told the BBC.
Hundreds of people are expected to welcome Ms Semenya and her teammates, male 800m gold medallist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and high jump silver medallist Kgotso Mokoena.
“They [tests] suggest that women can only perform to a certain level and that those who exceed this level should be men”
ANC women’s league
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Ms Semenya’s father Jacob Semenya will be at the airport to welcome his daughter home, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Ms Semenya’s family in Limpopo province have insisted that she is a girl and shown the BBC her birth certificate, which states she is female.
Athletics South Africa President Leonard Chuene last week told a local paper that he had to “persuade” the athlete to go to the podium to accept her gold medal because the she was so upset about the gender row.
The ANC women’s league said its leaders would also be at the airport and that other members would hold protests across South Africa.
The women’s league said it views the IAAF’s order for “as [a] vicious attack on the dignity of Caster Semenya and all women athletes because they suggest that women can only perform to a certain level and that those who exceed this level should be men”.
The IAAF ordered Ms Semenya to take the “gender verification test” after she improved her personal best by more than eight seconds over the past year.
The IAAF stresses that it does not suspect her of deliberately cheating but questions whether she may have a rare medical condition which gives her an unfair advantage.