Caster Semenya Can Compete Without Suppressing Her Testosterone – ECHR

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has upheld the claims made by Caster Semenya, that the rules requiring her to suppress her testosterone levels to compete discriminated against her.

The two-time Olympic 800m champion from South Africa who is currently 32-year-old is not permitted to participate in any track events without using testosterone-suppressing medication due to congenital defects in her sexual development.

The three-time world champion in the 800 meters and a Commonwealth champion in the 800 and 1500 meters has been embroiled in a protracted legal battle with World Athletics since the organization’s rules mandating her to receive hormone therapy were implemented in 2018.

Caster Semenya has argued that using testosterone-reducing medication could be harmful to her health and that the ruling denied her and other athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD) the ability to rely on their natural abilities.

Due to the World Athletics’ ruling, she was unable to defend her 800m title at the Tokyo Olympics which was held in 2021 instead of 2020 as originally planned.

Semenya, who has always been legally recognized as a woman, has contended that she should be allowed to compete in women’s events even if her testosterone levels are greater than those of her competitors.

In 2019, she told BBC Sport that she had been “crucified,” but that she would “never stop fighting” against the restrictions put in place by World Athletics.

In a legal battle regarding testosterone levels in female athletes, the ECHR sided with Semenya on Tuesday.

An ECHR statement read: “The court found in particular that the applicant had not been afforded sufficient institutional and procedural safeguards in Switzerland to allow her to have her complaints examined effectively, especially since her complaints concerned substantiated and credible claims of discrimination as a result of her increased testosterone level caused by differences of sex development.”

The ECHR lawsuit was filed against the Swiss government for failing to uphold Caster Semenya’s rights and is based on a ruling rendered by the Swiss Supreme Court three years ago.

When Switzerland’s Supreme Court declined to overturn a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which upheld the World Athletics rules, the ECHR concluded that Semenya was not protected from discrimination by the Swiss government in a lengthy decision announced on Tuesday.

After a panel of seven judges at the ECHR ruled 4-3 in her favor, Semenya could be able to challenge the rulings of the Supreme Court or CAS.

World Athletics described the ECHR chamber as “deeply divided” and said it will ask the Swiss government to refer the case to the ECHR Grand Chamber for a “final and definitive decision”.

“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”, A statement from the World Athletics read.

“We will liaise with the Swiss government on the next steps. In the meantime, the current DSD regulations, approved by the World Athletics Council in March 2023, will remain in place.”