Double Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya emerged victorious in her appeal against track and field’s testosterone rules on Tuesday night AEST, as the European Court of Human Rights ruled in her favor, stating that she was subjected to discrimination and raised doubts about the validity of the rules. Despite the court’s decision, World Athletics, the governing body responsible for enforcing these regulations, has declared that the rules will remain in place. As a result, Semenya’s return to high-level competitions is not immediate.
It is important to note that Semenya’s case was against the government of Switzerland, rather than World Athletics itself. Nevertheless, this ruling marks a significant moment, casting uncertainty on the future of these rules.
Semenya, who was legally recognized as female at birth and has always identified as such, was compelled by track and field’s governing body to artificially suppress her natural testosterone levels in order to compete in women’s competitions. World Athletics argues that Semenya has a condition known as differences in sex development, which results in naturally higher testosterone levels typically associated with males, providing her with an unfair advantage in women’s competitions.
Semenya has been challenging these rules in court for several years, but previously lost an appeal at the highest court in sports in 2019, as well as a second challenge at Switzerland’s supreme court in 2020. The rejection of her second appeal led to Switzerland being the respondent in the European Court of Human Rights case.
The European rights court ruled in favor of Semenya by a 4-3 majority of judges, highlighting the discrimination she faced and the lack of an effective remedy in the previous cases she lost. This ruling essentially criticizes the 2019 decision made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which upheld the rules requiring Semenya and others with differences in sex development conditions to undergo hormone treatments or surgery in order to compete in top-level competitions.
The European rights court found that the CAS had not adequately considered important factors such as the side effects of hormone treatment, difficulties for athletes in complying with the rules, and the lack of evidence proving that high natural testosterone levels provide an advantage. It is this unfair advantage that prompted World Athletics to implement the rules initially.
In addition, the European rights court also determined that Semenya’s second legal appeal at the Swiss supreme court should have triggered a thorough review of the rules, but such a review did not occur when the court ruled against her.
As a result of the ruling, the government of Switzerland has been ordered to compensate Semenya with €60,000 ($99,000) in costs and expenses.
This verdict has temporarily sidelined Semenya, as she has refused to artificially lower her hormone levels to comply with the regulations, impacting her career and profession. While the decision has the potential to prompt CAS and World Athletics to reassess the rules, the specific timeline and process for any potential changes remain unclear.
World Athletics has expressed its continued support for the regulations, asserting that they are necessary and proportionate measures to ensure fair competition in the female category, in line with the findings of CAS and the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
Semenya, who aims to compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, won gold in the 800 meters at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics but did not defend her title at the Tokyo Olympics due to the regulations.
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Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
