South African caster Semenya’s long and controversial reign as the queen of middle distance running looks set to be ended this year not by a track rival but by a new Hyper-Andro-genism rule that will stop her from running 800 and 1500 meters races.

The IAAF will publish new rules tomorrow to prevent women with the condition, which produces higher than normal levels of testosterone and is deemed by the governing body to give them an unfair advantage, from running distances from 400m to the mile.

The IAAF would allow them to compete at international level only if they took medication to reduce naturally occurring levels of testosterone.

Semenya, double Olympic and triple world champion over 800m and who won the 800-1500 meters double at the commonwealth games in Australia earlier this month, has always been a controversial figure in the sport.  The authorities have sought a solution that respected her rights while also providing a “level playing field”.

The 27-year-old’s powerful physique and deep voice, followed by the revelations of her hyper-andro-genism, left some rivals complaining that they faced an impossible and unfair challenge.