South African athelete, Castor Semenya, is causing much controversy in the world of athletes after she won the women's 800m at the athletics World Championships yesterday with many left wondering about her gender.

The eighteen-year-old girl from Polokwane, South Africa has been flooded with questions about her gender after posting a world leading time of 1 minute, 56.72 seconds at the African junior championships in Bambous, Maritius

The speculation about whether she is really a woman became so intense that the International Association of Athletics Federations or IAAF has ordered that she undergo DNA testing to determine her true sex.

The results of the verification tests will take weeks to complete and will require a physical medical evaluation, as well as reports from a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, an internal medicine specialist and an expert on gender.

The teenager's stunning improvement in times, along with her muscular build and deep voice, sparked speculation about her gender

Gideon Sam, the president of South Africa's Olympic governing body, congratulated Semenya on a truly remarkable achievement, he told South Africa's News24.

We condemn the way she was linked with such media speculation and allegation, especially on a day she ran in the final of her first major world event, Sam said. It's the biggest day of her life.

South Africa