NEW DELHI: South African athlete Caster Semenya, the two-time Olympic champion in the 800m, on Tuesday won her appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, challenging the infringement of her rights in relation to the requirement for women with high testosterone levels to undergo drug-induced reduction.
The 32-year-old Semenya, classified as having "differences in sexual development (DSD)," has consistently refused to take medication to lower her testosterone levels, as mandated by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport.
Previously, Semenya had lost an appeal against the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the decision was subsequently upheld by Switzerland's supreme court.
As part of her ongoing legal battle, she took her case against Switzerland to the European Court of Human Rights based in France.
In its ruling on Tuesday, the court stated that the applicant (Semenya) had not been provided with adequate institutional and procedural safeguards in Switzerland to effectively address her grievances.
However, it's important to note that Semenya's victory is primarily symbolic, as it does not challenge the ruling by World Athletics, nor does it open the path for her return to competitive participation in the 800m event.
Semenya had achieved Olympic gold medals at the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio Olympics.
World Athletics said in a statement noting the decision that it would liaise with the Swiss government on the next steps and, "given the strong dissenting views in the decision, we will be encouraging them to seek referral of the case to the ECHR Grand Chamber for a final and definitive decision".
The federation added: "We remain of the view that the DSD regulations are a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of protecting fair competition in the female category as the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Swiss Federal Tribunal both found, after a detailed and expert assessment of the evidence."
World Athletics introduced the DSD regulations to create a level playing field in events ranging from 400m to one mile. Semenya was forced to move up to the 5,000m, a distance in which she failed to reach the final in last year's world championships in Eugene.
In March this year, the federation amended the rules. DSD athletes now have to reduce their amount of blood testosterone to below 2.5 nanomoles per litre, down from the previous level of five, and remain below this threshold for two years.
World Athletics also removed the principle of restricted events for DSD athletes, meaning regulations now cover all distances rather than the previously monitored ones.
(With AFP inputs)
