Double Olympic champion, Caster Semenya, will not defend her 800-metres title at the World Championships in September after the Swiss Federal Tribunal reversed a ruling that temporarily lifted the IAAF’s testosterone regulations imposed on her, a spokesman for the athlete said on Tuesday (July 30).
Semenya is appealing the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) ruling that supported regulations introduced by the sport’s governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
These say that XY chromosome athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) can race in distances from 400m to a mile only if they take medication to reach a reduced testosterone level.
There has been no comments yet from the IAAF.
The South African had been given a reprieve last month by the Swiss Federal Tribunal, which temporarily lifted the IAAF’s regulations from her until the final outcome of her appeal.
Semenya ran the quickest ever 800-metres on United States soil at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting on June 30 in a time of 1:55.70.
She told reporters afterwards that she would not compete at the World Championships in Doha if barred from running her preferred distance, having earlier hinted she could enter longer races in the future that are not covered by the regulations.
Dorothee Schramm, the lawyer leading Semenya’s appeal, was quoted as saying that the judge had made a “procedural decision” that has no impact on the appeal itself. “We will continue to pursue Caster’s appeal and fight for her fundamental human rights. A race is always decided at the finish line.”
The world championships run from September 27 to October 6.
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