Semenya Out of World Championships After Swiss Court Reverses Reprieve
Double Olympic champion Caster Semenya will not defend her 800-meters title at the World Championships in September after the Swiss Federal Tribunal reversed a ruling that temporarily lifted the IAAF’s testosterone regulations imposed on her, a spokesman for the athlete said Tuesday. Semenya is appealing the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) ruling that supported regulations introduced by the sport’s governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). These say that XY chromosome athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) can race in distances from 400 meters to a mile only if they take medication to reach a reduced testosterone level. “I am very disappointed to be kept from defending my hard-earned title, but this will not deter me from continuing my fight for the human rights of all of the female athletes concerned,” Semenya said in a statement from her representative. CAS is based in Lausanne and comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland’s highest court. The IAAF said they would only comment once they have read the full reasoning behind the judgment. “We understand the Swiss Federal Tribunal will be publishing its full decision on this order tomorrow [Wednesday] and the IAAF will comment once the tribunal makes …