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Caster Semenya Cleared to Compete After IAAF Suspends Testosterone Regulations
June 3, 2019
Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya has been cleared to compete after the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was ordered to suspend its testosterone regulations by a Swiss court.
The ruling means that Semenya will not have to take testosterone-reducing medication and can compete in all female events, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).
Semenya is currently preparing for September's world championships in Doha, Qatar, where she will be hoping to defend her 800-meter title.
The 28-year-old expressed her gratitude at the latest events in a statement, per Aimee Lewis and Jill Martin at CNN.
"I am thankful to the Swiss judges for this decision," she said. "I hope that following my appeal I will once again be able to run free."
Dr. Dorothee Schramm, Semenya's Swiss lawyer, offered her verdict on the ruling, per Rory Jiwani at the Olympic Channel.
"The Swiss Supreme Court has granted welcome temporary protection to Caster Semenya," she said. "This is an important case that will have fundamental implications for the human rights of female athletes."
Semenya is hyperandrogenous, meaning her body produces higher levels of testosterone. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in May that Semenya must reduce her natural hormone levels if she were to compete internationally.
The South African appealed the decision that would have meant she would have to take "testosterone-suppressing medication or have surgery in order to compete," per Gerald Imray of the Associated Press.
The new ruling means Semenya is now cleared to race, and the ruling will stand "until the IAAF makes submissions to the court on why the regulations should be kept in place," per the Associated Press (h/t the Washington Post).
Semenya won gold at the 800-meter at both the 2012 London Olympics and again at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. She has won the world title three times at the same distance and will hope to now defend her title in September.
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