Caster Semenya before the Women’s 400m at the IAAF Continental Cup in Ostrava, Czech Republic in 2018. Photo: EPA/MARTIN DIVISEK
Semenya vs IAAF: When she’ll run again and what happens next
Caster Semenya’s fight against the IAAF’s rules is far from over. For a short while, she is free to run – and might make an appearance at a Diamond League event in the net few weeks.
Caster Semenya before the Women’s 400m at the IAAF Continental Cup in Ostrava, Czech Republic in 2018. Photo: EPA/MARTIN DIVISEK
Switzerland’s top court said on Monday that it had temporarily suspended IAAF rules that oblige female athletes, including South Africa’s double Olympic champion Caster, Semenya to lower their testosterone levels in order to compete in certain events.
Judges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport had previously ruled that the rules were “discriminatory” but found, in a split decision, that they were “necessary” to ensure fairness in women’s athletics.
The IAAF responded by saying they will fight the court ruling.
“The IAAF will continue to fight for equal rights and opportunities for all women and girls in our sport today and in the future,” the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said in a statement, adding that it was committed to the “full participation of women” in athletics.
It said it would “seek a swift reversion of the super-provisional order moving forwards”.
Semenya vs IAAF: What happens now?
The IAAF and Semenya’s legal team must now make further submissions to the court, which will decide on whether to order a longer suspension of the measures. Both parties have until 25 June 2019 to do so.
However, AFP reported that the final decision could take some time.
Swiss justice moves slowly, meaning a final ruling on the admissibility of the IAAF measures could take years.
That has pretty much been the theme of this entire saga, as our explainer detailed following the ruling by CAS.
When Semenya will run again
Even if the suspension wasn’t immediately extended, the current regulations allow her to run in events above the 1500m or below 400m.
Semenya had planned to compete at the rarely-run distance of 2000m at a meeting in Montreuil in the Paris suburbs on 11 June. It remains to be seen if she will now take part in the 800m instead.
However, there are three Diamond League meetings scheduled before the submissions are due. The first is in Rome on 6 June 2019. There’s no women’s 800m event, but there is a 400m. While it’s highly unlikely that Semenya will run this race, it’s not impossible.
Two further events – on 13 June in Oslo and 16 June in Rabat – also present an opportunity for Semenya to run. Rabat has both the 1500m and the 800m events – both her preferred distances – scheduled.
