Two-time Olympic gold medalist and runner Caster Semenya won an appeal against track and field’s testosterone rules on Tuesday, when the European Court of Human Rights ruled she was discriminated against and there were “serious doubts” about the rules’ validity.
World Athletics, which enforces the regulations, said in response to the decision that its rules would remain in effect, however, meaning there would be no immediate return to top-flight competition for the South African runner.
Semenya’s case in the Human Rights Court was against the government of Switzerland and not World Athletics itself, although the decision was still an important moment casting doubt on the future of the rules.
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Semenya was officially identified as female at birth and has identified as female her entire life, but in 2019 regulations were introduced by the Athletics Federation that forced her to artificially suppress her natural testosterone levels in order to be allowed to compete in women’s competitions.
According to World Athletics, she suffers from one of several conditions known as sex development differences, which results in natural testosterone levels in the typical male range and gives her an unfair advantage in women’s competitions.
Semenya has been fighting the testosterone rules in court for years, but had already lost an appeal to the highest sports court in 2019 and a second challenge to the rules in the Swiss Supreme Court in 2020. This second rejection of her appeal was the reason why the Swiss government was the defendant in the case at the European Court of Human Rights.
The Strasbourg-based Human Rights Court ruled by a 4-3 majority of the judges on Semenya’s complaint of discrimination, finding that she had an “effective remedy” against that discrimination in the two previous cases she had lost in the Arbitration Court for Sport was denied and the Supreme Court of Switzerland.
Tuesday’s ruling was in many ways a criticism of the CAS’ 2019 decision. The sports court upheld rules mandating that Semenya and others with so-called Differences in Sex Development Conditions (DSDs) take birth control pills, Injecting hormone blockers or undergoing surgery to compete in top competitions like the Olympics and World Championships.
The rules were initially enforced at specific events, but were expanded and tightened by World Athletics this year. Athletes like Semenya were forced to further lower their testosterone levels if they wanted to compete in a race.
In the Swiss-based CAS’s decision to dismiss Semenya’s first appeal, important factors such as the side effects of hormone treatment, the difficulty for athletes to follow the rules, and the lack of evidence that her high is natural were not considered Testosterone actually gave them an advantage, the European Court of Human Rights said.
An unfair advantage is the main reason World Athletics put the rules in place in the first place.
The European Court of Human Rights also concluded that Semenya’s second appeal against the rules to the Swiss Supreme Court should have resulted in a “thorough institutional and procedural review” of the rules, but that did not happen when that court also ruled against Semenya .
The Swiss government was ordered by the European Court of Human Rights to pay Semenya 60,000 euros ($66,000).
Ultimately, the rules have sidelined Semenya since 2019, as she has refused to artificially lower her natural hormone levels in order to run, and the European Court of Human Rights has pointed out that Semenya faces “high personal risks” with the species and manner in which the regulations disrupted their careers and affected them. Profession.”
Tuesday’s decision could force CAS, and ultimately World Athletics, to reconsider the regulations, although the path and timeline for a possible rule rollback are unclear.
In a statement, World Athletics said: “We continue to believe that the DSD regulations are a necessary, appropriate and proportionate means of protecting fair competition in the women’s category, as both the Sports Arbitration Court and the Swiss Federal Supreme Court have said verdict.” detailed and expert assessment of the evidence.”
Semenya, 32, is aiming to compete in next year’s Olympic Games in Paris. She was Olympic champion in the 800 meters in 2012 and 2016, but was unable to defend her title at the Tokyo Olympics due to the regulations.
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