Semenya's gender tests still not complete, says IAAF

CASTER Semenya's wait to find out if she can continue to compete as a woman goes on after world governing athletics body, the IAAF, revealed their gender tests are yet to be completed.

WAITING GAME: Caster Semenya's date with destiny has been put back by the IAAF (Getty Images)

The 18-year-old South African, who stormed to 800m gold at August's World Championships in Berlin, had been expected to learn her fate on November 20 at the IAAF council meeting in Monaco.

But the IAAF have issued a statement saying that the medical testing is not yet finished, ensuring Semenya's wait goes on.

The statement read: "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 was caught up in a tumultuous media storm due to her huge winning margin in Berlin, coupled with her relative youth and her masculine features.

A month before the World Championships, Semenya ran 1:56.72 minutes, smashing her previous personal best by more than seven seconds, also beating Zola Budd's long-standing national record.

Reports in September suggested the results would show Semenya to have intersex status, although the IAAF refused to confirm those reports, and while she has been told she will be permitted to keep her world gold medal, her future remains to be seen.

Such is the furore surrounding the teenager, she felt compelled to postpone her exams at the University of Pretoria, and she has only recently returned to full-time training.

While the Semenya saga has caused a global storm, the situation in South Africa has been intensified by the revelations that Athletics South Africa president, Leonard Chuene, admitted he lied about whether Semenya had been gender tested before Berlin.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee have since suspended Chuene, the ASA board and its members pending a disciplinary investigation.