LOS ANGELES: Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya will race the 3,000 meters at the Diamond League Prefontaine Classic on June 30, a distance she can contest without reducing her testosterone levels.
The South African has won two Olympic golds at 800 meters, and has insisted she will not take medication to comply with new International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) rules governing testosterone levels in women athletes that went into effect on May 8. The new rules require women with higher than normal male hormone levels — so-called “hyperandrogenic” athletes — to artificially lower the amount of testosterone in their bodies if they are to compete in races over distances of 400m to the mile. Semenya won the 800m at the Doha Diamond League meeting this month in her first race since losing her appeal of the controversial ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
South Africa have said they will lodge an appeal of the CAS ruling with the Switzerland Federal Tribunal citing lack of clarity over how the rules can be implemented. Semenya’s case has provoked a furious debate across sport worldwide about gender and “hyperandrogenic” athletes, those with “differences of sexual development” (DSD). The World Medical Association has urged doctors not to enforce the rules, warning that attempts to do so would breach ethics codes.
As the debate rumbles on, the Prefontaine 3,000m will be Semenya’s first race since the rules went into effect. Prefontaine Classic meet director Tom Jordan said Semenya’s agent reached out to meet officials asking if she could start in the 3,000.
This image released on Jan 27, 2023 shows Punjab Olympic Association President Aamir Jan holding a meeting with...
Red Bull Racing's Mexican driver Sergio Perez celebrates on the podium after winning the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand...
This image released on April 30, 2024, shows the unveiling of the trophy for the South Punjab Women's Champions...
This image shows a general view of Lahore Race Club.—YouTube/Lahore Race ClubLAHORE: In an eventful day at the...
This representational image shows martial arts. — UnsplashLAHORE: Pakistan will field its fighters in the Asian...
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz returns to Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild during the third round of the 2024 ATP Tour Madrid Open...