ASA, IAAF agree on the way forward for female eligibility rule

ATHLETICS SA (ASA) president Aleck Skhosana and his IAAF counterpart, Seb Coe, held a “cordial meeting” in London to discuss the new female eligibility rules.

The duo said they agreed the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) was the right body to “arbitrate this matter”.

ASA announced over the weekend that its challenge to the regulations would be led by a legal and medical team supported by the Department of Sport and Recreation and the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.

Skhosana said: “While we have been talking to the IAAF since May 10, we would have preferred more consultation in the development of these regulations.”

The IAAF has introduced a new policy in April, attempting to regulate women who naturally produce testosterone above five nanomoles per litre of blood. The global athletics governing body’s amended regulations would go into effect in November.

Coe made it clear that no individual athlete has been targeted in the creation of the regulations and the IAAF needed to ensure its sport was as inclusive as possible.

“To do this we need to create competition categories within our sport that ensures that success is determined by talent, dedication and hard work, rather than by other factors that are not considered fair or meaningful, such as the enormous physical advantages that a male athlete has over a female athlete,” Coe said.

ASA announced on Saturday it had lodged a statement of appeal with the CAS. “Caster Semenya, one of the affected athletes, has decided to similarly challenge these regulations and has appointed her own legal and medical team.”