European rights court to make final decision on Caster Semenya

STRASBOURG – Caster Semenya’s costly legal marathon is entering its last lap, as the highest chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on May 15 begins a hearing into whether the two-time Olympic champion must be required to lower her testosterone levels to compete.

The 33-year-old won an earlier round at the ECHR, which last July ruled she was the victim of discrimination from the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

“My hope is that World Athletics, and indeed all sports organisations, will take account of the ECHR’s decision and ensure that the dignity and human rights of athletes are respected,” Semenya said.

The South African, who is classed as having “differences in sexual development (DSD)” but has always been legally identified as female, has refused to take drugs to reduce her testosterone levels since track and field’s governing body World Athletics introduced its original rules in 2018.

CAS ruled against her in 2019 and the decision was validated by the Swiss Federal Court in Lausanne in 2020. It declared “fair competition” a “cardinal principle of sport” and said that a testosterone level comparable to that of men gave female athletes “an insurmountable advantage”.

Last July, a seven-member ECHR panel ruled, by four votes to three, that the Swiss court’s decision constituted discrimination and a violation of Semenya’s privacy.

The decision was largely symbolic as it did not call into question the World Athletics ruling or pave the way for Semenya to return to competition without taking medication.

Swiss authorities, supported by World Athletics, appealed to the European court’s 17-member Grand Chamber. Its ruling is not expected for several months but will be binding.

Semenya, the Olympic 800m champion in 2012 and 2016 and world gold medallist in 2009, 2011 and 2017, is barred from competing at her favoured two-lap distance and was forced to make an unsuccessful move up to 5,000m, a distance which World Athletics opted not to include in its rule.

She will be in Strasbourg on May 15 to present her case.

The interminable legal battle has come at a huge financial cost for Semenya, who has not raced since March 2023 and launched an appeal for donations in February.

Overall, it has cost her in the region of 30 million rand (S$2.2 million) with fees for experts and lawyers authorised to present the case before courts in Switzerland among the main expenses, her lawyer Gregory Nott said.

Semenya, meanwhile, has said her career at the top is over.

“I don’t want to talk more about sports as I have accomplished everything I’ve ever wanted,” she said, adding that she was now focused on being an advocate for young athletes facing similar challenges.

“We all know what this case is all about, it is about the differences in women’s body. And the main goal is to make sure that we protect these young kids so they can be able to compete.”

In 2023, World Athletics altered its rules and made them more stringent.

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. AFP