Semenya back in Berlin after 'really hard year'

(AP)

Caster Semenya is relishing the prospect of returning to Berlin's Olympic Stadium after "11 really hard months" in which she was left out in the cold after doubts about her gender.

The South African was famously crowned 800 metres champion at the World Athletics Championships last August, only to be subsequently banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

She was cleared to race seven weeks ago and returned with back-to-back victories at low-key meetings in Finland, the first time she had taken part competitively since the furore surrounding her began. Now Semenya will run at Berlin's ISTAF meeting, one of two European races she plans to compete in as her rehabilitation continues.

"I have now run at two meets in Finland and won them both," she said. "But I cannot be completely satisfied with my times. Still, after 11 really hard months in which I've been through a lot, I'm looking forward to being on the track once again."

The teenager has been the centre of controversy ever since she won the world title. She headed into the world championships relatively unknown, but ran a personal best 1 min 55.45 seconds to finish ahead of the pre-race favourites Jenny Meadows of Britain and Kenya's Janeth Jepkosgei.

Semenya was then barred from running as the world governing body looked into her unusually high levels of testosterone.

After being cleared by the IAAF, she has returned with times of 2:04.22 and 2:02.41 in Finland and is seeking further improvement as she bids to win a spot in the South African team for October's Commonwealth Games in India – which will be her first big test since the ban.

She added: "Now I have to see to it that I really run good races, so as to pick up the thread of my earlier achievements – maybe this time at the ISTAF. I'm already looking forward to the beautiful stadium and the Berlin public."

Semenya will follow up her race in Germany by running at another meet in Milan on 9 September. Her manager, Jukka Harkonen, said: "Starting in Berlin was Caster's express wish."