The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Wednesday dismissed an appeal made by South Africa’s Olympic 800-meters champion Caster Semenya against the implementation of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) regulations to halt the introduction of regulations to limit testosterone in female athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs), reported BBC.
The 28-year-old South African, who is a two-time Olympic champion in the 800m, is hyperandrogenous meaning she has naturally elevated levels of testosterone in her body. Hyperandrogenism is a kind of medical condition that is estimated to occur in around 5 percent to 10 percent of women.
The ruling would bar her from running distances up to one mile unless she takes potentially harmful medication to reduce that testosterone.
According to the CAS ruling, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) regulations are required to ensure fair competition between athletes who compete in events ranging from 400-metres to a mile.
The ruling means that Semenya and all the other female track athletes, who were hoping to compete at the World Championships in Doha in September, would now have to begin taking medication to decrease their testosterone level to below the required five (5) nmol/L within one week to participate in certain races at major competitions like the Olympics.
“ASA respects the CAS decision and will now review the ruling and decide whether to consider the option of taking this matter to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within the 30 days as stipulated in the ruling,” Athletics South Africa (ASA), the national governing body for athletics, said in a statement.
ASA added that it was deeply disappointed and profoundly shocked to know that the CAS’s ruling is in favor of upholding the new IAAF regulations for female athletes.
Disappointed at the ruling, Semenya posted a tweet that read, “Sometimes it’s better to react with no reaction.”
Semenya now has 30 days to appeal the CAS ruling to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
