South Africa’s double Olympic champion Caster Semenya has hit back at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and its proposed female eligibility regulations.
The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland on Thursday rejected the IAAF's bid to impose the female eligibility regulations immediately on Semenya.
“I am a woman, but the IAAF has again tried to stop me from running the way I was born,” said Semenya.
“The IAAF questions my sex, causes me great pain and required me to take hormonal drugs that made me feel constantly sick and unable to focus for many years. No other woman should be forced to go through this in order to have the same right that all women have – to do what we love and run the way we were born.”
The ruling means Semenya is allowed to compete without taking any testosterone-lowering medication. The 28-year-old, however, will still not be allowed to race in her favoured women’s 800m event at the Diamond League meeting in Rabat on Sunday.
“She was notified on June 11 that the president of the Moroccan Athletics Federation has denied her participation in the 800m in Rabat,” Semenya’s lawyers said in a statement.
“Caster is currently seeking clarity on the specific reasons for that decision, and she urges the IAAF to ensure its member federations comply with the law and the Supreme Court’s orders of May 31 and June 12.”
African News Agency