Dutee blasts ruling on hormonal imbalance, supports Semenya
NEW DELHI: Indian sprinter Dutee Chand said track and field’s new rules on women’s testosterone levels were “wrong” and offered legal help to Olympic champion Caster Semenya to help her fight back.
Chand, who won a court battle for her right to compete with a hormonal imbalance, said she was relieved to have avoided falling under the regulations, which only cover distances between 400m and one mile.
But she criticised this week’s International Association of Athletics Federations ruling, which has been interpreted as targeting Semenya, a middle-distance specialist.
“I am happy and relieved after four years of uncertainty but I feel for athletes like Semenya. I strongly believe the current rules are also wrong,” Chand said over the telephone from Hyderabad.
“I have offered Semenya my legal team if she needs. I have emailed her offering my support and help.”
LONG DEBATE
South Africa’s Semenya has long attracted debate because of her powerful physique related to hyperandrogenism, the medical condition which causes women to produce high levels of male sex hormones.
The issue of hyperandrogenism is controversial because it pits principles of fair competition against the rights of women born with the condition.
NEW RULES
The new rules say that women with high levels of naturally occurring testosterone can only compete if they take medication to reduce them.
The ruling covers events from 400m to the mile because the IAAF’s medical and science department says it has data showing an advantage for hyperandrogenous athletes over such distances.
But South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has blasted the new regulations as unjust and racist and urged the Pretoria government to challenge them in the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Semenya, 27, is the reigning world and Olympic champion over 800m and won the 800-1,500m double at this month’s Commonwealth Games.
APPROACHING CAS
Chand, who competes in the 100m and 200m, took her case to the CAS after she was barred from the 2014 Commonwealth Games by the Athletics Federation of India over her hyperandrogenism.
Now cleared for competition, the 22-year-old is keen to make up for lost time at the upcoming Asian Games in Indonesia and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
“I lost crucial years of my career when I could not focus on my training and initially (in 2014) lost six months which is a significant time in a sportsperson’s life,” said Chand.
I am happy and relieved after four years of uncertainty but I feel for athletes like Semenya. I strongly believe the current rules are also wrong. DUTEE CHAND, Indian sprinter