Factbox - South African runner Caster Semenya

(Reuters) - Olympic 800 metres champion Caster Semenya won the 800 metres race at the Diamond League meeting in Doha on Friday, two days after she lost her appeal against the introduction of a rule to limit testosterone levels in female athletes.

There was uncertainty if the South African will be able to compete in the 800 metres again after she confirmed she had no plans to take medication to lower her testosterone levels to comply with new rules that come into effect on May 8.

Here are some key facts about the South African athlete:

EARLY LIFE

*Born Jan. 7, 1991 in Polokwane (previously called Pietersburg), South Africa.

*She began running as training for soccer.

*In 2008, she won the 800 metres gold medal at the World Junior Championships before winning the same event at the Commonwealth Youth Games.

*Won both 800m and 1,500m races at the African Junior Championships in 2009.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

*In August 2009, Semenya clinched a gold medal in 800m at the World Championship in Berlin.

*Following her victory, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) asked her to take a sex verification test to ascertain whether she was female.

*In July 2010, she was cleared again to compete in women's competitions.

*Semenya was chosen to carry the country's flag during the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. She finished second in the 800m final behind Mariya Savinova of Russia.

*Semenya's silver medal was upgraded to gold in 2017 after Savinova's results were disqualified by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for doping violations.

*Semenya won the gold medal in the women's 800 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a time of 1:55.28.

*Her fine form continued at the 2017 World Championships in London, where she added another 800m gold. She also won the bronze medal in the 1,500m event.

*In April 2018, the IAAF announced new rules that required hyperandrogenous athletes to take medication to lower their testosterone levels.

*Under the rules, female athletes with high natural levels of testosterone wishing to compete in events from 400-metres to a mile must medically limit that level to under 5 nmol/L, which is double the normal female range of below 2 nmol/L.

*In June, Semenya's representatives confirmed a legal challenge would be filed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.

*On Wednesday, Semenya lost her appeal after CAS ruled the regulations were necessary for athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) to ensure fair competition.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)