- A lawsuit filed by Caster Semenya for discrimination has been upheld by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
- According to the rules of the world athletics association World Athletics (WA), women with naturally high testosterone levels are obliged to take medication to lower them.
- The South African had previously been rebuffed by the TAS Sports Court and the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.
- However, the verdict is only of a symbolic nature, as it does not call into question the rule of the World Athletics Federation and it remains in place.
Caster Semenya clinched an important off-track victory. Her lawsuit was approved by the European Court of Human Rights and thus by the highest authority. The judges ruled with a 4:3 majority that Semenya had been discriminated against.
In its judgment, the court “notably found that the applicant did not receive sufficient institutional and procedural guarantees in Switzerland that would have enabled her to effectively examine her complaints”. For the 32-year-old, however, the verdict is largely only of a symbolic nature, as it does not question the WA rule itself and does not pave the way for Semenya to return.
Noting the “ruling of the deeply divided Chamber,” World Athletics said in a statement: “We continue to believe that the DSD rules are a necessary, appropriate and proportionate means of protecting fair competition in the women’s category are.” The current regulations remain in force.
Lawsuit dismissed twice
Semenya won Olympic gold over 800 meters in 2012 and 2016, but has not been allowed to compete in international races on her parade route since 2019 due to the so-called testosterone rule.
The South African resisted, but her lawsuit was first rejected by the TAS Sports Court (June 2019) and then by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (September 2020). The CAS is based in Lausanne and is subject to Swiss law. For this reason, appeals against its decisions can be lodged with the Federal Supreme Court.
Testosterone Limit for Intersex Athletes
At the heart of the legal dispute is a testosterone limit for athletes with intersex tendencies. The latest version of the IAAF rule requires that female athletes with variants of sex development (DSD) must reduce their blood testosterone levels to below 2.5 nanomoles per liter and remain below that level for two years in order to compete in the female category . The three-time world champion rejects this.
The rule now applies to all disciplines and no longer to running distances of 400 m to one mile. The World Athletics Federation introduced the rule to protect the integrity of the women’s category.