“I am very disappointed to be kept from defending my hard-earned title, but this will not deter me from continuing my fight for the human rights of all of the female athletes concerned,”
ISTAF 75 Internationales Stadionfest Berlin
Olympiastadion Berlin
800 m Damen
Caster SEMENYA RSA
Foto Camera 4
Olympic champion Caster Semenya will not defend her 800m crown at the World Championships in Doha in September after the Swiss Federal Court reversed it’s previous ruling.
The next logical step for Semenya is to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, arguing a human rights violation.
“I am very disappointed to be kept from defending my hard-earned title, but this will not deter me from continuing my fight for the human rights of all of the female athletes concerned,” Semenya said in a statement from her representative.
Semenya is appealing the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration (CAS) ruling on May 1 that supported the regulations of the International Association of Athletics (IAAF) which say XY chromosome athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) can race in distances from 400m to a mile only if they take medication to reach a reduced testosterone level.
The IAAF declined to comment at this stage.
Semenya’s hopes were lifted on June 3 when the Federal Court granted her a temporary right to compete without medication until it ruled on her appeal.
The CAS had indicated that requiring athletes with DSD to take medication to lower testosterone levels was discriminatory but was a “necessary, reasonable and appropriate means” to maintain fair play for all.
The Federal Court’s decision on Tuesday will have wide-reaching consequences for gender politics and science and could set a precedent for all women’s sports, not just athletics.
