South African runner Caster Semenya loses court battle over allowing athletes with elevated testosterone to compete

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has rejected South African runner Caster Semenya's appeal to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The athlete sought to overturn new IAAF rules that bar athletes with elevated testosterone levels from competing in women's track and field.

The court found that the rules were discriminatory, but that the discrimination "was a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of achieving the IAAF's objective of preserving the integrity of women's athletics."

Following the court's decision, the IAAF announced that the new rules would come into force on May 8.

Semenya demanded that the restrictions introduced by the IAAF in April 2018 be declared illegal. According to them, female athletes with elevated testosterone levels must reduce them with medication, otherwise they will only be allowed to compete in men's events. In particular, this concerned running events over distances from 400 meters to one mile. The rules were supposed to come into force on November 1, 2018, but their introduction was postponed due to Semenya's lawsuit.

• Caster Semenya won the 800m world championship in 2009, after which the IAAF forced her to undergo gender testing. The results of the tests were not made public. Semenya had to take hormones for several years. However, since then, the runner has won two gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and became the 800m world champion in 2017.