Semenya ruling by June: IAAF chief

A solution in the gender case of South African runner Caster Semenya will be reached by the end of June, IAAF president Lamine Diack said Friday.

The 19-year-old Semenya has not run competitively since winning the women's 800-metre title at last year's world championships in Berlin.

"We are on the way to finding a solution not later than the end of June," Diack said ahead of the season's first Diamond League meet. "This girl is in a difficult situation and it's difficult for everyone."

The International Association of Athletics Federations has repeatedly said it will not make any public comment on Semenya until the medical process is complete, and Semenya has agreed to wait for the results of her gender test to be released before competing.

Semenya, however, has said she plans to return to competition on June 24 at a meet in Zaragoza, Spain, though that remains unlikely unless her medical tests are finished.

In April, shortly after she was prevented from taking part in a meet in Stellenbosch, South Africa, Semenya insisted she would fight to compete but acknowledged her long-term plans in the sport remained in doubt.

Semenya handled the field to win the 800 at the worlds in Berlin in August. Her dramatic improvement in times and muscular build led the IAAF to order gender tests.