Caster Semenya faces prospect of having to take pills to race women after court defeat as double Olympic champion considers last ditch appeal
- Caster Semenya is considering appealing Court of Arbitration for Sport verdict
- CAS ruled in favour of IAAF and said discrimination is ‘necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving aim of preserving integrity of female athletics’
- The ruling means IAAF’s call to lower testosterone levels in women still stands
- Semenya, who is hyperandrogenic, has dominated 800m over the past decade
- But she will have to take pills if she hopes to retain her world title later this year
- Semenya could consider switching to 5,000m to avoid taking medication
Caster Semenya is considering a desperate last appeal after learning on Wednesday that her career as a top-level athlete could be over unless she takes medication to lower her testosterone levels.
That is the upshot of the 2-1 majority ruling in favour of athletics’ world governing body the IAAF after more than two months of deliberation at the Court of Arbitration for Sport — a split decision that will feel like a knockout for the South African in this landmark case.
The double Olympic champion, and any athlete classed as having differences in sexual development (DSD), now has until May 8 to reduce her testosterone to five nmol/L or she will not be eligible to defend her 800metres title at the World Championships in Doha later this year.
Double Olympic champion Caster Semenya has lost her landmark case against the IAAF
Matthieu Reeb, General Secretary of CAS, speaks on Wednesday after the decision is made
The ruling, which flew in the face of opposition from the UN Human Rights Council, who branded the plans ‘unnecessary, harmful and humiliating’, will affect DSD athletes competing in distances from 400m to a mile.
DSD athletes, who are often born with testes, will now need to prove their testosterone levels are compliant for six months ahead of a major championships in order to compete.
In rejecting Semenya’s case against the incoming regulations, the CAS went so far as to say ‘discrimination is necessary’ for what has been billed as the greater good of protecting female sport. That is how the IAAF approached the contentious case, pitting them against Semenya, whose times for the 800m could drop by as much as seven seconds if she has hormone treatment.
Figures in the sport told Sportsmail on Wednesday night they believe it is now more likely she will pursue distances outside the regulations rather than take the oral medication to lower her levels, which opens the possibility of a campaign at 5,000m.
Her top-level career could be over unless she takes medication to lower testosterone levels
The 28-year-old won the 5,000m at her national championships last week, but her time of 16:05.97, albeit a season opener at high altitude, would only have ranked 354th in the world last year — which stacks even more importance on the outcome of an appeal, which must be lodged with the Swiss Federal Tribunal within 30 days.
Semenya, who has spoken of her desire to ‘run naturally, the way I was born’, was bullish in defeat. Having faced scrutiny over her sex since breaking through in 2009, she said: ‘I know that the IAAF’s regulations have always targeted me specifically.
‘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. I will once again rise above and continue to inspire young women and athletes in South Africa and around the world.’
It’s understood Semenya could pursue longer distances rather than take the oral medication
Athletics South Africa also condemned the ruling, saying: ‘South Africa knows discrimination better and CAS has seen it fit to open the wounds of apartheid — a system of discrimination condemned by the whole world as a crime against humanity.’
The Semenya situation boils down to the ethical oddity of an athlete needing to take drugs in order to continue her career at the highest level.
The contentiousness of the topic was illustrated by the CAS summary of their ruling ahead of the release of a 165-page report, based on the findings of their three-person panel following the five-day hearing in February.
In a statement, the CAS said: ‘The panel found that the DSD Regulations are discriminatory but that, on the basis of the evidence submitted by the parties, such discrimination is a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF’s aim of preserving the integrity of female athletics in Restricted Events.’
The CAS said they had ‘serious concerns as to the practical application’ of the regulations
The CAS said they had ‘serious concerns as to the practical application’ of the regulations. They included worries that athletes might unintentionally break the testosterone levels, the practicalities of adhering to the regulations, potential side effects of the medication, and questions over evidence that DSD athletes in the 1500m and mile have a ‘significant advantage’.
On that latter point, the panel suggested ‘deferring the application of DSD regulations’, but the IAAF told Sportsmail on Wednesday night they will continue to keep those distances in their regulations. It is relevant to Semenya, who is the world bronze medallist at 1500m.
On that point the statement read: ‘We have enough evidence from the field across all the disciplines… so they will remain included in the regulations.’
SO, WAS CAS RULING CORRECT?
YES
Sharron Davies (1980 Olympic swimming silver medallist)
Olympic medallist Sharron Davies MBE
I believe all of us feel for Caster Semenya. But we also have a real crisis in women’s sport and it needs to be protected.
We cannot just throw women’s sport under the bus. Caster’s case highlights what happens if athletes born with male characteristics and a Y chromosome compete in female sport.
If we are not careful then in 10 years all the records in men’s sport will be held by men and all the records in women’s sport will be held by women who carry a Y chromosome. I think we need to look into reclassifying things.
Maybe we have an XX female category and then a category for men and XY. We want sport to be inclusive and perhaps the way to do this is based on biology.
A chromosome test, a swab on the inside of your mouth like I had at the 1976 Olympics, takes three seconds and then you know if you are XY or XX. Simple.
NO
Philippa York, (born Robert Millar, fourth in 1984 Tour de France)
Former cyclist Philippa York
I think this process has been a breach of Caster Semenya’s human rights. Caster hasn’t cheated in any way. Each elite athlete is exceptional, and to tamper with what nature has given her is unfair and could also be a health issue.
Caster has been given a different set of issues to deal with but has still been able to distinguish herself as an athlete. So to remove that seems really unfair.
Elite sport isn’t a level playing field. Not all cycling teams have the same level of equipment. That’s not fair either. It’s just a different kind of advantage.
People talk about athletes like Caster being bigger and stronger. But you need certain levels of hormone to run with that frame, and if you reduce that you’re handicapping yourself.
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