Next month, Caster Semenya will not be allowed to defend her 800-metre title at the World Track and Field Championship in Doha, Qatar.

That’s down to a ruling by the Swiss Supreme Court earlier in the week, which upheld the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) restrictions on testosterone levels that are considered in the “male range”.

That ruling overturned their previous decision, and no date has been set for an appeal, which will almost certainly be forthcoming.

The Daily Beast reports:

The new rules from the IAAF require all female competitors with natural testosterone levels above 5 nmol/L to lower them for six months before competing in races between 400 meters [sic] and a mile.

How convenient that those rules cover Caster’s preferred distances, right?

The IAAF released the revised rules in March, saying they were a necessary means of “preserving the integrity of female athletics.” Semenya challenged them before the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration and lost before taking her case to the country’s highest court…

The Swiss Supreme Court temporarily put the rules on hold last month while it considered the ruling. Meanwhile, Semenya has refused to submit to hormone therapy or change events, claiming the IAAF is unfairly targeting her and using her as a “guinea pig” in its rule-making around high-testosterone female athletes. She vowed not to compete at the World Championship if the rules were upheld.

In response to the ruling, Caster has been active on Twitter, posting a mix of inspirational quotes and Cardi B songs.

This one below stands out:

Caster also commented on the ruling through her PR team, with this from the Daily Maverick:

“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 the female athletes concerned.”

The IAAF welcomed the Swiss court’s decision, saying: “This decision creates much-needed parity and clarity for all athletes as they prepare for the World Championships in Doha this September.

“In the remainder of the proceedings before the SFT, the IAAF will maintain its position that there are some contexts, sport being one of them, where biology has to trump gender identity, which is why the IAAF believes (and the CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] agreed) that the DSD regulations are a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of protecting fair and meaningful competition in elite female athletics.”

Gregory Nott, a member of Semenya’s legal team, said that they were planning an appeal, adding that “this is a landmark case with implications that go far beyond Caster’s rights”.

Say what you want about Caster (she’s heard it all before), but you have to admire her strength in the face of 10 years of constant, and often humiliating, scrutiny.

[sources:dailybeast&dailymaverick]