Two Kenyan sprinters have been dropped from the team for the IAAF World Relays championship in Japan this week, after blood tests showed high levels of testosterone, Athletics Kenya said Friday.
The decision to leave Kenya’s 100m and 200m champion Maximilla Imali and 400m runner Evangeline Makena off the team comes after South Africa’s Caster Semenya lost a court challenge against plans to force some women to regulate their testosterone levels.
The decision last week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport means that female athletes with elevated testosterone will have to take suppressive treatment if they wish to compete as women in certain events.
“We could not risk travelling with the two athletes after the recent IAAF ruling on the restriction of testosterone levels on female runners took effect on May 8,” Athletics Kenya (AK) director of competitions Paul Mutwii said.
It is not the first time that 23-year-old Imali, who also holds the Kenyan 400m record, has undergone a blood test to determine her testosterone levels.
In 2015 she was withdrawn from the world championships in Beijing after her blood test revealed her hyperandrogenism.