( CNN ) -- The international governing body for athletics urged caution Friday after reports that the world-champion South African runner Caster Semenya has both male and female organs . The front cover of You magazine shows Semenya after a recent makeover . The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia and The Sun newspaper in Britain reported that gender tests ordered by the International Association of Athletics Federations ( IAAF ) show the 18-year-old is a hermaphrodite . Neither paper named the source of their information . IAAF spokesman Nick Davies would not discuss the findings with CNN . `` I simply have n't seen the results , '' Davies said . `` We have received the results from Germany , but they now need to be examined by a group of experts and we will not be in a position to speak to the athlete about them for at least a few weeks . `` After that , depending on the results , we will meet privately with the athlete to discuss further action . '' Has Semenya been treated fairly ? The IAAF issued a statement , saying no decision on the case will be announced until the experts can look at the results . A final decision regarding the case is not expected before the IAAF Council meets in late November in Monaco , the IAAF said . Davies also said the news reports should be treated with caution . The newspapers said extensive physical examinations of Semenya show she has no ovaries , but rather has internal testes , which are producing large amounts of testosterone . What is intersexuality ? Semenya won the women 's 800-meters gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin last month . She crushed her rivals by streaking away to secure victory in 1 minute , 55.45 seconds -- the best women 's time in the world this year . Defending champion Janeth Jepkosgei of Kenya took the silver and Jennifer Meadows of Britain claimed bronze . The IAAF said it was seeking tests on Semenya 's gender even before that race . Davies said questions about her were first raised after her astonishing displays at the African junior championships in July , with her masculine build and surprising performance fueling the rumors . South Africans reacted angrily to Friday 's reports , with one newspaper headline declaring `` outrage . '' Sport and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile said he was `` shocked and disgusted '' at the treatment that Semenya has received from the media , the IAAF , and the world . `` She may be a hermaphrodite , but so what ? She is still a girl , '' Stofile told a news conference in Pretoria . Even if Semenya has an unfortunate `` proportion of hormones , '' he said , she is still `` a young girl enjoying growing up . '' Stofile said he believes the teenager 's human rights have been violated and that she was not given a chance to understand what the gender testing was all about . South Africa will fight back if Semenya is excluded from further competition , Stofile said , adding , `` It will be a third world war . '' All indications were Friday that , at the very least , Semenya may be able to keep the gold medal she won in Berlin . `` Our legal advice is that , if she proves to have an advantage because of the male hormones , then it will be extremely difficult to strip the medal off her , since she has not cheated , '' Davies told CNN . Semenya 's countrymen -- including her father and the South Africa team manager -- have maintained that Semenya is a female . Thousands of supporters crammed the airport in Johannesburg when she returned from Berlin last month . And this week , the athlete appeared on the cover of a South African magazine wearing makeup , jewelry and a glamorous dress . Under IAAF rules , any time there is suspicion about an athlete 's gender , the athlete can be asked to attend a medical evaluation before a panel consisting of a gynecologist , an endocrinologist , a psychologist , an internal medicine specialist and an expert on gender issues . There are chromosome tests and scans of the athlete 's body , Davies has said . He called gender verification -- which is generally required only for female athletes -- `` an extremely complex procedure . '' The process of gender verification has undergone big changes since it was first introduced for international competition in the 1960s , the IAAF said . The first mechanism involved `` rather crude and perhaps humiliating physical examinations , '' which soon gave way to mouth swabs to collect chromosomes , the IAAF said . There were too many uncertainties regarding the mouth swabs , so the IAAF abandoned them in 1991 and the International Olympic Committee discontinued them in 2000 , the IAAF said . A proper test has yet to be found , the IAAF said , and the current round of tests is considered a good interim solution .
South African Sports Minister `` shocked and disgusted '' at Semenya treatment . Sydney Morning Herald reports tests have revealed athlete 's internal testes . South Africa team manager maintains Semenya is female . Semenya won the 800-meters gold at the World Athletics Championships .