South African track star Caster Semenya is being cared for at the university she attends, after gender-test results suggesting she is a hermaphrodite were allegedly leaked to Australian media last week.

According to some media reports, the 18-year-old is in a fragile emotional state and has even been placed on suicide watch.

"Having gone through what she has gone through, many people are worried about her," CNN reporter Nkepile Mabuse told CTV's Canada AM from Johannesburg. "But we've been told the university she goes to, Pretoria University, is taking very good care of her emotional and psychological needs."

The country's national track and field organization also requested on Thursday that a commission be set up to look into how Semenya has been treated. Athletics South Africa has been criticized for failing to protect the runner's privacy. But it's not clear whether ASA officials were involved in the gender tests, which were conducted in South Africa.

That may become clearer next week, when ASA representatives are scheduled to appear before the South African parliament to report on their organization's role in Semenya's case.

A recent press report in the Sydney Daily Telegraph and the Sydney Morning Herald said that Semenya's test results show that she has both male and female characteristics.

The IAAF hasn't confirmed that, however, saying instead that it will make a decision in November about whether the young star will be permitted to continue competing in women's events.

Many people in her home country are worried about how Semenya is coping with the media attention concerning her gender, Mabuse said, particularly after the runner pulled out of a race she was scheduled to compete in last weekend.

"She's from rural South Africa. She's not used to this kind of attention on her, especially the kind of negative attention that she's been getting."

In response, local newspapers have been asking readers to write them letters of support for the young star, Mabuse said.

Her parents have reacted with outrage over their daughter's treatment, calling the IAAF racist.

"She said she knows she gave birth to a girl, and that this is all just coming out of jealousy," Mabuse said, after speaking with Semenya's mother by phone.

The 18-year-old won a gold medal in the women's 800-meter race at the World Track and Field Championships in August. While there, she was asked by The International Association of Athletics Federations to undergo gender testing.

The striking improvement in her racing ability, strong build and deep voice had sparked speculation about her sex.

Semenya won the 800-meter women's race in Berlin on Aug. 19 by 2.45 seconds. The IAAF announced that it had ordered her to undergo gender testing on the same day that the 800-meter finals were held.

With files from The Associated Press