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Skynews

Gender tests carried out on South African world champion athlete Caster Semenya reportedly show the teenager is a hermaphrodite.

Quoting an unnamed source close to the case, the Sydney Daily Telegraph said the 18-year-old had both male and female sex organs.

The report said the runner had internal testes that produce large amounts of testosterone - and no womb or ovaries.

The International Association of Athletics' Federations (IAAF), which ordered the tests, has confirmed that it has received the results.

But it refused to discuss the findings.

The reports have been denied by Semenya's uncle Lesiba Rammabi who maintains the athlete is "normal, inside and out".

After the race in Berlin

The IAAF is reportedly making urgent efforts to contact Semenya, who won the women's 800m at the World Athletic Champsionships in Berlin.

The teenager is running a 4km race at the South African cross country championships on Saturday, her first competitive appearance since her August gold medal.

Athletics South Africa has insisted that it has not yet heard from the IAAF.

"This is a medical issue and not a doping issue where she was deliberately cheating," IAAF spokesman Nick Davies is quoted as saying in Australian papers.

"These tests do not suggest any suspicion of deliberate misconduct but seek to assess the possibility of a potential medical condition which would give Semenya an unfair advantage over her competitors.

"There is no automatic disqualification of results in a case like this."

IAAF sources believe Semenya would probably keep her medal because the case was not related to a drug matter.

God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I'm proud of myself. I don't want to talk about the tests. I'm not even thinking about them.

Caster Semenya

Her victory was completely overshadowed by speculation over her masculine appearance and suggestions over her gender.

Last week, when questioned about the controversy by the South African magazine YOU, Semenya said: "I see it all as a joke. It doesn't upset me.

"God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I'm proud of myself.

"I don't want to talk about the tests. I'm not even thinking about them."

The gender test caused fierce protests in South Africa and complaints that it infringed Semenya's human rights.

Futher reports suggest there had been several other gender cases investigated by the IAAF in recent times which had not received such publicity.