Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya is today to run her last 800m before the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) imposes hugely controversial new rules limiting testosterone in female athletes.
Semenya, who has spent years trying to get the new IAAF regulations thrown out, is to compete at the Diamond League meeting in Doha against 2016 Olympic silver medalist Francine Niyonsaba — who recently revealed that she had similar difference in sexual development characteristics to the South African.
Both must then begin taking medication to lower their testosterone levels if they wish to compete over that distance based on the new rules, which the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Wednesday said were necessary to ensure fair competition.
The case is likely to have far-reaching consequences for women’s sport and has split opinion around the globe.
Athletics South Africa likened the new IAAF regulations to apartheid, and it and Semenya’s lawyers have said that they could contest the CAS ruling dismissing her appeal against their introduction.
Under the rules to take effect on Wednesday next week, female athletes with high natural levels of testosterone who want to compete in events from 400m to a mile must medically limit that level to less than 5 nanomoles per liter, which is more than double the normal female range of less than 2 nanomoles per liter.
Barring further legal action, that leaves Semenya at a crossroads: Either she submits to the regulations or looks to compete in longer distances.
She last week claimed the 5,000m title at the South African Athletics Championships, an event not covered by the IAAF regulations, but in a modest time of 16 minutes, 5.97 seconds, well below the qualifying standard for the world championships of 15 minutes, 22 seconds.
This potential lifeline means that Semenya might not abandon the 800m yet, although any advance to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court could take months to reach a verdict and leave her career in limbo.
“I know that the IAAF’s regulations have always targeted me specifically,” Semenya, 28, said in a statement released via her lawyers on Wednesday.
“For a decade the IAAF has tried to slow me down, but this has actually made me stronger. The decision of the CAS will not hold me back. I will once again rise above and continue to inspire young women and athletes in South Africa and around the world,” she said.
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