Caster Semenya loses appeal at Swiss Supreme court over restrictions of testosterone level in female athletes
Stockholm [Sweden], September 9 (ANI): Two-time Olympic track champion, Caster Semenya lost her appeal in the Swiss supreme court to compete in the 800 meters at Tokyo Olympics.
In a highly charged case about biological sex, gender identity and fair play, the ruling by the Swiss Court was a victory for World Athletics, New York Times reported.
The double Olympic champion Semenya has a rare genetic condition that significantly elevates her testosterone levels to far above the standard female range.
In 2018, the organization had passed regulations according to which intersex athletes who have a disorder of sexual development and have both X and Y chromosomes, the standard male pattern, would have to lower their testosterone levels.
World Athletics has welcomed the decision of the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT) on its Eligibility Rules for Athletes with Differences of Sex Development (DSD) stating that it "fully respects each individual's personal dignity."
Semeya took to social media to say that she believes that while the doors may be closed, they are not locked.
"Chills my people,A man can change the rules but the very same man can not rule my life, What I'm saying is that I might have failed against them the truth is that I have won this battle long ago, Go back to my achievements then you will understand. Doors might be closed not locked," Semaya shared on Twitter.
After the ruling World Athletics put out a statement:"For the last five years World Athletics (formerly IAAF) has fought for and defended equal rights and opportunities for all women and girls in our sport today and in the future. We, therefore, welcome today's decision by the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT) to uphold our DSD Regulations as a legitimate and proportionate means of protecting the right of all female athletes to participate in our sport on fair and meaningful terms."
"...World Athletics fully respects each individual's personal dignity and supports the social movement to have people accepted in society based on their chosen legal sex and/or gender identity. As the SFT specifically recognised, however, the DSD Regulations are not about challenging an individual's gender identity, but rather about protecting fair competition for all female athletes.
"The Swiss Federal Tribunal acknowledged that innate characteristics can distort the fairness of competitions, noted that in sport several categories (such as weight categories) have been created based on biometric data, and confirmed that 'It is above all up to the sports federations to determine to what extent a particular physical advantage is likely to distort competition and, if necessary, to introduce legally admissible eligibility rules to remedy this state of affairs.'," it added. (ANI)
