800m Olympic champion Caster Semenya has declared she’s “unquestionably women” ahead of the hearing of a case challenging proposed rules to restrict testosterone levels in female athletes at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).
This is following the case the IAAF raised in regards to athletes who have DSD ( Different Sexual Development ) The 28-year-old South African made the statement after IAAF denied it would argue during the hearing that she should be classified as a biological male. “Ms Semenya is unquestionably a woman. She is a heroine and an inspiration to many around the world,” her lawyers said in a statement. “She asks that she be respected and treated like any other athlete.” The rules would force so-called “hyperandrogenic” athletes or those with “differences of sexual development” (DSD) to keep testosterone levels below a prescribed amount.
The rules were to have been instituted in November 2018 but have been put on ice pending next week’s hearings. Supported by the South African Athletics Federation, the two-time Olympic champion in the 800m (2012, 2016) and three-time world champion (2009, 2011, 2017) has denounced the proposals.