IAAF wants Caster to lower her testosterone levels
As South African hero Caster Semenya’s controversial court case kicked off on Monday, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) argued that their case against her was to ensure the continuation of women’s sport.
In a statement issued on Monday – which has been slammed by Semenya’s lawyers – the IAAF stated that athletes who “have testes and testosterone levels in the male range” must drop their testosterone levels to the female range if they want to compete as elite female athletes.
Semenya is this week challenging the IAAF regulations at the sport’s highest decision-making body, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The IAAF ruled last year that athletes that are not biologically female but have “differences of sexual development” with very high levels of testosterone must take a medical pill to naturally lower their testosterone to levels of females. The pill is similar to the birth-control pill.
The rule was set to be implemented in November but was postponed until Semenya’s case could be heard.
The IAAF said previously that male and female categories in sport existed to ensure that women can compete and are not eclipsed by men due to the advantage that testosterone gives them.
On Monday, the association argued that the rule was to ensure fair competition for all women and to ensure the continuation of women’s sport. “Indeed, without it, we risk losing the next generation of female athletes, since they will see no path to success in our sport,” said the IAAF in a statement.
“The IAAF believes that equal treatment of men and women is not just a formal requirement of its constitution, but that empowering girls and women through athletics is a core value of the organisation, at the heart of what it believes the sport can offer to participants and to the world.”
Read the full story on: Sunday Times.