Runner Caster Semenya wins testosterone discrimination case at ECtHR
Two-time Olympic champion in athletics Caster Semenya won a case of discrimination due to testosterone levels in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). It is reported by Reuters.
The ECHR ruled that the runner’s appeal against the rules of the International Association of Athletics Federations (World Athletics) was not properly considered. The Court found that the athlete had not been provided with sufficient institutional and procedural safeguards in Switzerland to allow her complaints to be dealt with effectively.
In 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected Semenya’s appeal against a competition ban for female athletes with elevated testosterone levels. The runner called the testosterone control rule an attempt to “prevent her from being who she is.”
In February 2019, World Athletics introduced a new rule for female athletes running over 400 meters: their testosterone levels must not exceed five nanomoles per liter. CAS approved the innovation, after which Semenya was forced to reduce the level of testosterone in the body with medication.
Semenya is a two-time Olympic champion in the 800 meters. Due to her characteristic male physique and deep voice, the South African had to take a test to confirm that she is biologically a woman.
Source: Lenta
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