Semenya's Appeal to CAS Begins

(ATR) Caster Semenya did not have any comment as she arrived at the Court of Arbitration for Sport to begin a scheduled five-day hearing challenging IAAF rules that would force her to take medication to reduce her natural testosterone levels in order to compete.

The IAAF introduced the rules in April 2018and wanted them to take effect on November 1. But following Semenya’s appeal to CAS in June, the governing body for athletics agreed with Athletics South Africa to wait for a CAS decision before implementing the new rules.

Semenya, double Olympic Champion and triple World Champion in the 800 meters, competes with high levels of naturally occurring testosterone in her body. Some of her rival competitors have complained that the South African’s hyperandrogenism gives her an unfair advantage on the track. With higher than usual levels of testosterone, Semenya is prone to have more muscle mass, strength and hemoglobin, which benefits her endurance.

Semenya will either have to take prescribed medication to reduce her testosterone in order to compete at her events or move to longer distance running starting at 3,000 meters.

The IAAF has made it clear that no individual athlete was being targeted in the creation of the new regulations, which it says are needed to ensure an equal playing field for all athletes in the sport.

Semenya lawyer, Norton Rose Fulbright, said in a statement last week that the South African star "asks that she be respected and treated as any other athlete. Her genetic gift should be celebrated, not discriminated against."

A panel of three CAS judges must determine if the scientific research that the IAAF used does prove that women with Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) receive a significant advantage from male levels of testosterone.

In a statement on Monday, the IAAF said it "is confident that the scientific basis by which it has defined the limits of the category – limits which will apply equally to all competitors – will stand up to challenge in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)."

The IAAF on Monday released a list of the five experts that will be providing evidence at CAS this week in support of its regulations.

A new study released last week suggests the IAAF regulations "are rooted in flawed science". The lead author of the study, Roger Pielke, Jr., is expected to be an expert witness before CAS.

CAS wants to issue a verdict in the case by March 26, six months and two days before the 2019 world championships begin in Doha, Qatar.

Should Semenya lose her appeal and still want to compete in middle distance events, she would be required to take medication for six months to lower her testosterone before being eligible to compete in Qatar.

Written by Gerard Farek

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