Despite a ruling in her favour by the European Court of Human Rights, 800-metre runner Caster Semenya’s Olympic start next summer remains in doubt.

Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya has won a legal victory in her fight against the world athletics federation’s testosterone regulations. The intersex runner from South Africa won her appeal before the European Court of Human Rights.

The court identified several human rights violations and concluded Semenya had been discriminated against. It also said the testosterone regulations had marginalised the runner since 2019 because she refused to artificially suppress her natural hormone levels. She said there was “a lot at stake” for Semenya as the rules had disrupted her career and affected her “profession”.

Opposition from World Athletics
The governing body World Athletics has already announced opposition to the ruling and the adherence to the transgender rules. The federation also wants to encourage the Swiss government to refer the case to the Grand Chamber of the Human Rights Court so that “a final decision” can be made.

Whether Semenya can still obtain the right to start at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris remains open. However, her chances seem to be rather poor, as the legal proceedings that now follow may drag on and the Games in Paris already start on 24 July 2024.

The South African had unsuccessfully sued before the International Court of Arbitration for Sport Cas four years ago and before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in 2020. The discussion about Semenya had started at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, where she began her great career as a teenager. In 2012 and 2016, the 32-year-old won gold in the 800 metres.