Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya has hit the news that she is ending her legal challenge against sex eligibility rules in athletics. “We are fighting forever,” the South African told DW.
In July, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) gave Semenya a partial victory in her year-long legal battle, ruling that a Swiss appeals court had not rigorously examined her case. That ruling leaves open the possibility of further legal action against World Athletics, the sport’s global governing body.
Last week, the Associated Press quoted one of Semenya’s lawyers, Patrick Brecher, as saying that her challenge “will not be taken further under the circumstances.”
However, in an interview with DW at the Game Sports conference in Tampere, Finland, Semenya suggested that Brecher had been misunderstood.
“It’s not about stopping, it’s never the end,” Semenya said. “They didn’t understand what my legal team was saying. This is not the end, this is just the beginning of making sure we fight for the right. What World Athletics is continuing is the policies. With the new policies, we are fighting forever to be protected.”
,[The courts are] Not necessarily,” Semenya said. I am yet to decide if we still go with the courts. I am still waiting for my legal team to finalize everything. ,
The legal battle started in 2018
Semenya was the gold medalist over 800 meters at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. So was born with differences in sexual development (DSD), a genetic condition which – in his case – means he has XY (male) chromosomes and produces high levels of the hormone testosterone.
While she was still competing, World Athletics, then known as the IAAF, introduced rules requiring DSD athletes to reduce their testosterone levels, arguing that that condition gave them an unfair advantage in the women’s category. But Semenya refused to take drugs to suppress her testosterone.
The ECHR’s ruling was the latest in a legal battle that has been simmering since 2018, when Semenya took her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), claiming the governing body’s policy discriminated against her and violated her human rights.
Both the CA and the Swiss Court of Appeal, the Swiss Federal Tribunal, ruled in favor of World Athletics.
“When you’re born with your differences, those are your differences and they don’t make you a great athlete,” said Semeya, now 34. “You are a great athlete at work, every day, showing dedication to your body.”
‘Weak leadership’ from World Athletics
World Athletics has since revised its DSD rules, and now all female competitors must undergo sex testing, with the organisation’s president, Sebastian Coe, stinging in July: “We are saying, for you to compete in the women’s category, you must be biologically female.”
If an athlete is found to have the SRY gene, which is found on the Y chromosome and triggers the development of male characteristics, they will be barred from competing in the female category.
However, sex testing for non-medical reasons is not allowed in countries such as France and Norway, which has caused problems with implementation of the policy.
“These kind of rules are not safe for the game,” Semenya said. “It raises questions about the quality of the leaders that we have now. It’s weak leadership because you can’t enforce rules that you know are not in favor of nationalities where, in their country, they are illegal.
“If you’re going to regulate, you have to regulate fairly for everyone. That’s what we need to promote instead of promoting the average. This is nothing to do with regulation, this is about people exerting power over other people.”
conversation with imen game
The new World Athletics policy mirrors that of World Boxing, which has introduced mandatory sex testing for its competitions. That follows a controversy at last year’s Paris Olympics, when two female boxers, Algeria’s Iman Khel and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, were accused of failing unspecified tests in 2022 and 2023.
The sport has taken its case to CAS, which is contesting world boxing rules, and Semenya revealed she had been in contact with the Algerian Olympians.
“We had a conversation, I told her: ‘Look, you have to understand in this world, when something special happens, when something beautiful happens, people always want to criticize,'” Semenya said. “As women who have a similar situation, you have to be brave, fight for justice and make sure you love yourself for who you are.”
Semenya says she urges any athlete to “fight” if it benefits them, but has no illusions about her legal battle.
“It takes the individual out of you, it takes the vulnerability out of you,” Semenya said. “People want you to always have an opinion. You have to mute your real feelings. You can’t show weakness. It can cost you the person you are.”
Edited by Jonathan Harding