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 return 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 one minute 55.45 seconds to finish ahead of pre-race favourites Jenny Meadows of Britain and Kenya's Janeth Jepkosgei.

Semenya was then barred from running thereafter as her 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 - set to be her first major test since the ban.

She added on the website www.istaf.de: "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 September 9.

Her manager Jukka Harkonen said: "We have not given any acceptances except for Berlin and two weeks later in Milan.

"But the idea is that she should run one race each week. Starting in Berlin was Caster's expressed wish."

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