European court backs Semenya appeal against Swiss decision

Semenya, pictured after winning the 800-metres event at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. Keystone / Arno Balzarini

The South African runner had appealed a ruling by a Swiss court, upholding regulations that forced her to artificially reduce her naturally high testosterone levels in order to compete in women’s races.

Double Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya won an appeal against track and field’s testosterone rules on Tuesday when the European Court of Human Rights ruled she had been discriminated against.

The ruling could force sport’s highest court to re-examine the regulations that force Semenya and other female athletes to artificially reduce naturally high testosterone levels in order to compete at top meets such as the Olympics and world championships.

The Strasbourg-based rights court ruled in Semenya’s favour by a four-three majority of judges.

+ Why Swiss courts are involved in the Semenya case

The court also ruled the South African runner was denied an “effective remedy” against that discrimination when the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court rejected her two previous appeals against the rules.

It was not immediately clear if the Strasbourg decision would force an immediate rollback of the rules and if the 32-year-old Semenya would be allowed to compete at next year’s Olympics in Paris.

She was the 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion in the 800 meters but has been barred from running in that event since 2019 by the testosterone rules and did not defend her title at the Tokyo Olympics.