Caster Semenya - is she really a he?

From James Toney, Sportsbeat, in Berlin

 SOUTH AFRICAN team officials have insisted teenager Caster Semenya will run in tonight's 800m final at the World Athletics Championships.

CONTROVERSIAL: South African athlete Caster Semenya will appear in tonight's 800m final, insist team officials

But questions over her gender continue and are threatening to overshadow even Usain Bolt.

Semenya, 18, has already had a controversial championship, bringing down Kenyan world champion Janeth Jepkosgei in their heat.

However, she advanced through her semi-final with ease and is scheduled to line up against Great Britain's Jenny Meadows and Marilyn Okoro, among others, later tonight.

Semenya burst onto the world stage this year, running 1.56.72 in Bambous three weeks ago, smashing her previous personal best by more than seven seconds.

She also broke Zola Budd’s long-standing South African record and arrived here as the newly-crowned African junior champion.

With a muscular build, the teenager has already been compared with former Olympic 800m champion Marie Mutola, whose gender was questioned throughout her career without any substance to the allegations.

Officials from the IAAF discussed the case overnight and will can expect the issue to dominate their daily media conference, scheduled for later this afternoon.

Under rules there are only three ways an athlete can be suspended from competition - doping, questions over nationality or suspicions over gender.

Semenya, who lives in a country village outside Pretoria, has already undergone tests in Berlin, including genetic screening and a ‘physical check’.

The results of those tests are not yet known but the IAAF will need to clear the matter up before tonight’s final.