Court ruling: No discrimination against Caster Semenya

South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya was not discriminated against by the rules of sports jurisdiction in her fight against the so-called testosterone rule in athletics. This was ruled by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg.

At the same time, however, Semenya "did not receive a fair trial" in Switzerland , the ruling stated. Semenya was therefore awarded €80,000 in damages.

"The fight will never end," Semenya said after the verdict. "As long as there is injustice," the South African said, "I will fight." But she called the outcome "positive." The verdict was "a reminder to those in charge that the priority is to protect athletes. We must respect athletes; we must put their rights first," Semenya said.

Long road through the courts

Semenya is an intersex woman who was assigned female at birth. For seven years, she has been challenging World Athletics (WA), the world governing body for athletics , for banning her from certain competitions because she refuses to undergo medical treatment to lower her testosterone levels. However, the 34-year-old filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights not against the World Athletics Federation, but against Switzerland, which WA supported in the case.

Semenya had previously filed a lawsuit before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne and the Swiss Federal Supreme Court as the next instance, but to no avail, challenging the fact that, as an intersex athlete, she would have to artificially lower her naturally high testosterone levels in order to be able to participate in international competitions such as the Olympic Games or World Championships.

In its ruling, the ECHR pointed to a "structural imbalance" in sports jurisdiction. Semenya's case would have required a "particularly rigorous examination" of her personal rights, but the Swiss Federal Supreme Court had failed to conduct this. The case could therefore now be referred back to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne.

Two Olympic gold medals over 800 meters

Semenya, who is classified as a person with "variations of sexual development (DSD)," won Olympic gold in the 800 meters in 2012 and 2016, but has been banned from competing in international races over her favorite distance since 2019 due to the testosterone rule.

The testosterone rule in athletics was criticized from the beginning, and the CAS banned the relevant paragraph in 2015. As of November 1, 2018, a new set of rules was introduced, which has been revised several times since then.