By Olayinka Abiola

Semenya was born in Ga-Masehlong, a village in South Africa near Polokwane and grew up in the village of Fairlie, “deep in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province.” As a youngster she was a tomboy enjoying sport typically considered to be the domain of boys and never wore dresses.

The 18-year-old South Africa has pulled out of her return to competitive sport amid growing fears over the psychological impact of rumours about her sex.

The 800 m time was the world leading time in 2009 at that date. It was also a national record, championship record, and a personal best by almost four seconds. Semenya simultaneously beat the Senior and Junior South African records held by Zelda Pretorius at 1:58.85, and Zola Budd at 2:00.90, respectively.

Semenya was believed to have gone into hiding after she cancelled all engagements and interviews, it is understood that the 18-year-old withdrew from a cross-country race in South Africa after it was widely reported that a leaked sex test reveals she is a hermaphrodite. Her coach, Michael Seme, said she will not run because she is "not feeling well".

The IAAF says it was "obliged to investigate" after she made improvements of 25 seconds at 1500m and eight seconds at 800m – "the sort of dramatic breakthroughs that usually arouse suspicion of drug use. A source close to the investigation says the test show that controversial runner Caster Semenya is a man and woman!

South African Champion has no womb or ovaries and her testosterone levels are more than three times higher than those of a normal female, according to reports.

If the allegation is backed up by the official results, the South African runner may find herself stripped of her gold medal she won in Berlin last month and her competitive future is in limbo. Report says that the IAAF, the world governing body, refused to comment on the claim, but its general secretary, Pierre Weiss, said: “It is clear that she is a woman but maybe not 100 per cent.”

South Africa sports minister Makhenkesi Stofile said: "I think it would be the third world war. We will go to the highest levels in contesting such a decision. "I think it would be totally unfair and totally unjust."

South Africa President Jacob Zuma also hit back saying: "I don't know why we should not respect the privilege between the doctor and the patient.

It is still unclear if Caster Semenya will ever return to competitive sport or not, but one thing that is clear right now is that Caster Semenya is more woman than man.