South African Olympic champion Caster Semenya has won her appeal at the European Court of Human Rights, which challenged whether her rights had been infringed in terms of requiring women with high testosterone to reduce those levels through drugs.
Double Olympic 800m gold-medalist Semenya, who is classed as having "differences in sexual development", has refused to take testosterone-lowering medication as mandated by the sport's international federation, World Athletics.
Semenya lost an appeal against the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport and Switzerland's supreme court subsequently confirmed the decision of sport's top court.
As part of a long-running legal battle, she took her case against Switzerland to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Judgment Semenya v. Switzerland - Discrimination against international-level athlete who was not afforded sufficient procedural safeguards when challenging World Athletics regulationshttps://t.co/b1iSVzZ9fM#ECHR #CEDH #ECHRpress pic.twitter.com/VJWCPGdZaC
— ECHR CEDH (@ECHR_CEDH) July 11, 2023
In its ruling this Tuesday, the ECHR "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."
However, Semenya's victory is largely symbolic as it does not call into question the ruling by World Athletics and does not pave the way for her to return to competition in the 800m race.
Semenya won Olympic gold at the 2012 London Games and at Rio in 2016.
World Athletics to refer case back to ECHR
In a statement, World Athletics stated that following the decision, would liaise with the Swiss government on the next steps and – "given the strong dissenting views in the decision – we will be encouraging them to seek referral of the case to the ECHR Grand Chamber for a final and definitive decision".
The federation added: "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."
World Athletics responds to European Court of Human Rights decision.
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) July 11, 2023
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World Athletics introduced the DSD – differences in sexual development – regulations to create a level playing field in events ranging from 400m to one mile.
Semenya was forced to move up to the 5,000m race – a distance in which she failed to reach the final in last year's world championships in Eugene, Oregon.
In March this year, the federation amended the rules where DSD athletes must now 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.
World Athletics also removed the principle of restricted events for DSD athletes, meaning regulations now cover all distances rather than the previously monitored ones.
