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Caster Semenya has been found to be victim of discrimination in testosterone case by European Court of Human Rights. This decision doesn't mean she's back competing in the 800m but it's a step in her search for justice.
Double Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya has won her appeal at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The South African challenged the infringements of her rights in terms of requiring her to take hormone treatment to decrease her natural testosterone level to be able to compete in international athletics competitions in the female category.
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Semenya approached the France-based court in February 2021 after losing an appeal to the Court of Arbitration on Sports (CAS) and another plea to the Swiss Federal Tribunal in a long-running legal battle against the regulation.
However, this doesn't mean she can compete yet. Also, it doesn't confirm if World Athletics testosterone rules are justified.
She just hasn't been given a thorough 'institutional and procedural review" of the case, and the domestic remedies available to her could not be considered effective in the circumstances of the present case', read the press release by ECHR.
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World Athletics responds to European Court of Human Rights decision on Semenya
Meanwhile, the governing body of athletics in the world whom Semenya took to court has responded to the decision.
In a press release, WA stated that the DSD regulations are necessary and it's a protective means of fair competition in the female category.
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"World Athletics notes the judgment of the deeply divided Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). 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," read the release.
For more information on the press release, check worldathletics.org
Semenya competed in the 5000m at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, where she failed to reach the final. Semenya finished the 12½-lap race in 15:46:12. It was 54 seconds behind the winner, Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia. Given the circumstances, Semenya said this did not feel like defeat, and she was nowhere near giving up.
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“I think it is great to be able to run here,” she said. “Just being able to finish the 5k, for me, it is a blessing. I am learning and I am willing to learn even more. It was hot, I could not keep up with the pace, I tried to stick as much as I can. But it is a part of the game.”
Since 2019, she hasn’t raced in a major 800-meter race, the event in which she has won two Olympic and three world titles.
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