Semenya To Miss World Championship Following Ruling

South African athlete Caster Semenya will not participate at the upcoming World Championships in Doha, Qatar, set for September 28 until October 6.

Her participation has been ruled out after courts in Switzerland this week overruled a temporary suspension on newly introduced International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) regulations concerning permissible levels of testosterone for female athletes competing in certain races, including the 800m for which Semenya holds the world title.

Semenya’s lawyers have indicated that they intend to continue the fight against the new regulations, describing this week’s ruling as a procedural decision, rather than one that related to the content of the athlete’s appeal more broadly. The appeal is still to be ruled on by the Supreme Court in Switzerland.

Semenya has rejected requirements that she must take testosterone-reducing medication in order to compete in track events of 400m to one mine, vowing to continue her fight for human rights in opposing the regulations.