Semenya loses fight over IAAF testosterone rules
GENEVA — The sports world’s highest court ruled Wednesday that Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya and other female runners like her with unusually high testosterone must take medication to reduce their levels of the male sex hormone if they want to compete — a landmark decision with far-reaching ramifications for other women’s sports.
In a 2-1 ruling, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld proposed rules issued by track’s governing body, the IAAF, saying that they are discriminatory but that “such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means” of “preserving the integrity of female athletics.”
The IAAF argued that high, naturally occurring levels of testosterone in athletes like Semenya, who was recognized as female at birth, with “intersex” characteristics that don’t conform to standard definitions of male and female give them an unfair advantage.
The court decision could open the way for similar rules in other women’s sports in which size, speed and power make a difference, such as weightlifting, boxing, swimming, rugby, field hockey and soccer.
Semenya — a 28-year-old South African whose sculpted biceps and super-fast, blow-away-the-competition times have led others to question her accomplishments — declared she will not be deterred.
“I know that the IAAF’s regulations have always targeted me specifically,” Semenya said. “For a decade, the IAAF has tried to slow me down, but this has actually made me stronger. The decision of the CAS will not hold me back.”
The two-time Olympic champion in the 800 meters will have to lower her testosterone levels by such means as birth-control pills or prostate-cancer drugs to compete.