ASA to tackle rule to ‘sideline’ Caster

UNFAIR ADVANTAGE AT ISSUE

Athletics South Africa president Aleck Skhosana will meet world athletics boss Sebastian Coe on Wednesday.

Athletics South Africa president Aleck Skhosana will meet global athletics boss Sebastian Coe on Wednesday to discuss contentious International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rule changes which could derail the career of track star Caster Semenya.

The national athletics body confirmed at the weekend it had formally lodged an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, just six days after Semenya said she, too, had opted to tackle the issue in court, as pressure continued to mount against the IAAF’s regulations restricting hyperandrogenic athletes, due to be implemented in November.

“I am meeting IAAF president Sebastian Coe on Wednesday and we won’t be able to comment further until we have discussed the matter in more detail with our mother body,” Skhosana said yesterday.

In its appeal, ASA contends the new regulations discriminate against certain female athletes and infringe on their human rights.

The national federation also claimed there was “insufficient scientific evidence” to support the IAAF’s decision, and it had applied for the implementation of the regulations to be suspended pending the outcome of the legal process.

ASA said it had received support from government and the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, but the IAAF had stated it intended to proceed with the implementation of the new rules. The regulations, to be applied to athletes competing over distances between 400m and 1.609km, would force women with hyperandrogenism to reduce their natural testosterone levels in order to participate internationally against female opponents.

The rule changes were allegedly aimed at sidelining Semenya, but the IAAF said it had evidence that natural testosterone in hyperandrogenic athletes provided an unfair advantage. –

It discriminates against certain female athletes.