ATHLETICS:CASTER SEMENYA is almost certain to keep her World Championships 800 metres gold medal whatever the outcome of her gender tests. With the results expected in the next two weeks, IAAF communications director Nick Davies said it was unlikely the South African would be stripped of her gold medal as her case is not drug-related.

Davies said: “This is a medical issue and not a doping issue where she was deliberately cheating.

“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.”

The world governing body requested the South African undergo the medical evaluation after her remarkable improvements in performances in the weeks leading up to her victory in Berlin.

The 18-year-old shot into the spotlight when, a few weeks before the championships, she won the African junior title in a world leading time for the year of one minute 56.72 seconds in Bambous, Mauritius.

She then stormed to the 800 metres title in Berlin over two seconds ahead of defending champion Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya.

The IAAF revealed she had undergone tests in Berlin involving an endocrinologist, a gynaecologist and a psychologist.