Caster Semenya Approaches European Court Of Human Rights
South Africa’s sensational long-distance runner, Caster Semenya, is set to take her fight with World Athletics to the European Court of Human Rights, following World Athletics’ ruling that athletes like her should not compete in certain athletics competitions due to their ‘hormonal imbalances.’
Semenya who has a higher congenital testosterone level which is considered abnormal by World Athletics has been having a torrid time since the ruling came out that female athletes like her would have to take certain drugs to suppress their testosterone hormone or risk being disbarred from competing.
“We will be taking World Athletics to the European Court of Human Rights, We remain hopeful that World Athletics will see the error it has made and reverse the prohibitive rules which restrict Ms. Semenya from competing.
Moreover, the increasing number of institutions that have shown their support for Ms. Semenya reinforces the fact that it is not acceptable to require a black‚ or any other woman‚ to either have invasive surgery or unethical hormonal treatment to curtail natural biological functions‚ to compete.
Moreso, we remain inspired by Ms. Semenya’s indomitable spirit and will remain steadfast in our stand against discrimination until she is allowed to run free from persecution,” said Greg Nott, Semenya’s lawyer.
In addition, Semenya has vowed to fight the regulations but has already lost an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and another subsequent plea at the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT).
World Athletics’ ruling has since affected Semenya’s events‚ which include the mile, 400m, and 800m where she has won two Olympic golds and three world championship titles.
However, if Semenya wins the case at the European Court of Human Rights then she will most likely compete at the upcoming 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
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