The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on World Athletics to end “sex testing” on females, particularly hyperandrogenic athletes such as Caster Semenya, calling the practices “discriminatory” and breaching the “dignity” of women.
The report claims that the standards of femininity required were “often deeply racially biased,” with women from the Global South “disproportionately affected.”
“Through their policies, sport governing bodies have created environments that coerce some women into invasive and unnecessary medical interventions as a condition to compete in certain events,” HRW wrote in its report, which includes testimonials from athletes.
“Sports officials have engaged in vitriolic public criticism that has ruined careers and lives,” it added.
World Athletics regulations “discriminate against women on the basis of their sex, their sex characteristics and their gender expression,” the report said. “Sex testing violates a range of internationally protected fundamental rights including to privacy, dignity, health, non-discrimination, freedom from ill-treatment and employment rights.”
Since April 2018, World Athletics has required women with a natural excess of male sex hormones to lower their testosterone levels through treatment before competing in races between 400m and 1 mile.
The ruling concerns, in particular, the South African Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya, who has elevated testosterone due to differences of sexual development, but identifies as a woman and races as a woman.
The 29-year-old, who refuses to comply with the ruling, intends to turn to the European Court of Human Rights after her case was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
HWR, which in its report recommends that World Athletics abolish its regulations, is also appealing to the International Olympic Committee.
World Athletics released a statement criticizing the report, while underlining its commitment to women in sport.
“This report was not written by independent and impartial experts, but rather by advocates for one side of the argument,” it said in the statement.
“World Athletics was not asked to provide a response to these allegations as part of the report, which would have provided much-needed balance on this very complex issue,” World Athletics added. “We remain committed to fairness for women in sport and reject the allegation that biological limits are based on race or gender stereotypes.”
BELARUS RUNNER BANNED
Marina Arzamasova, the world 800m champion in 2015, has been banned for four years after testing positive for ligandrol, a muscle growth agent, the Athletics Integrity Unit said on Friday.
Arzamasova, 32, who also won a European silver medal in 2014, was provisionally suspended in August last year.
Since running a personal best of 1 minute, 57.54 seconds in 2015, she has not broken the two-minute barrier.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but