IAAF guns for Caster

New rules on testosterone levels mooted

THERE’S already a storm brewing over new rules the International Association of Athletics Federations has proposed which govern the participation of female athletes with hyperandrogenism, or heightened levels of testosterone.

This would mean South Africa’s golden girl, Caster Semenya, could be ruled out of eligibility to compete in her preferred 800m event, or any event under one mile (1 600m), from November 1.

“This is one of the toughest subjects my council and I are discussing,” president Sebastian Coe said. “This is not about cheating. No hyperandrogenic athlete has cheated. This is about our responsibility as a sports federation to ensure a level playing field. It is for us to decide the rules, to draw the lines for competition.”

The council last month approved a proposal to limit naturally produced testosterone for women who participate in distances that range from 400m up to and including 1 600m.

“Following further drafting, the regulations will be communicated to CAS before being released. It is anticipated the regulations will go into effect on November 1.”

The Irish Times reported yesterday that the IAAF would later this week reveal the new regulations. “We choose to have two classifications for our competition – men’s events and women’s events,” said Coe.

In July 2015 the Court of Arbitration for Sport asked the IAAF to provide further evidence of the advantage hyperandrogenic female athletes had over athletes with “normal” testosterone levels.

The IAAF first introduced new rules and regulations in 2011 which allowed females with hyperandrogenism to compete in the “women’s competition in athletics provided that she has androgen levels below the male range”.

The new regulations target Semenya, whether directly or indirectly, with her regularly participating in all three distances. She has been a dominant force in her specialist 800m since CAS suspended the IAAF regulations and has recently been making inroads in the 1 500m.

Semenya has been the dominant force in the two-lap event, going unbeaten in 22 finals including the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and last year’s World Championships in London. Arguably South Africa’s greatest female track athlete of all time, Semenya became only the third woman to win the 800m/1 500m double gold at this year’s Commonwealth Games.

The Irish Times revealed that the new regulations would be adopted for a separate female classification which would be known as Athlete with Differences of Sexual Development (or DSDs).

Women with DSDs will be allowed to compete in national competitions from the 400m up to the 1 600m, in male or “intersex” classified races without the limitations of the new regulations.

To justify the new regulations, the IAAF suggests there are a “significant over-representation of DSD athletes in certain events” with their success in those events corroborating their evidence.

“This evidence shows clearly that DSD athletes with levels of circulating testosterone in the normal male range have a very significant competitive advantage over female athletes with testosterone levels in the normal female range, which justifies requiring DSD athletes to reduce their testosterone levels down to the normal female range in order to compete in the female classification in such events,” the Irish Times quoted the IAAF.