South Africa: Olympic Champion Caster Semenya to Fight Testosterone Rule in Court

Caster Semenya (file photo).
19 June 2018

Cape Town — Lawyers for Caster Semenya have confirmed that the Olympic 800m champion will challenge a female classification rule imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations, BBC reports.

According to ABC.net law firm Norton Rose Fulbright said in a statement that Semenya will take her fight to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and file a challenge on Monday.

Semenya's reason for challenging the ruling, which would require her to take medication to reduce her levels of naturally-produced testosterone, is set on the basis that it violates the IAAF's own constitution, as well as the Olympic charter and athletes' human rights, Eyewitness News says.

"It is not fair. I just want to run naturally, the way I was born," said the two-time Olympic champion. "I am Mokgadi Caster Semenya. I am a woman and I am fast."

"These advantages (which translate, in athletics, to an average 10-12 per cent performance difference across all disciplines) make competition between men and women as meaningless and unfair as an adult competing against a child," said the IAAF said in a statement.

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