Semenya Wins 2,000m Race Amid Testosterone Battle

South African 800m Olympic champion Caster Semenya yesterday won the Meeting de Montreuil 2,000m race in France, her first competitive race since the Swiss federal supreme court temporarily suspended International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) rules limiting testosterone levels among female athletes competing in distances between 800m and a mile. 

Semenya has been challenging the controversial IAAF regulations in the courts, which came into effect on May 8 and require female athletes with testosterone levels above a certain limit to medicate in order to qualify for future competitions.

While her challenge in the Court of Arbitration for Sport was rejected last month the Swiss federal supreme court subsequently granted a temporary suspension of the measures as they apply to Semenya pending further hearings. The outcome of the hearings will determine whether Semenya can compete in the World Championships scheduled to take place in Doha between September 28 and October 6.

Competing on Tuesday, Semenya completed the distance in 5 minutes 38 seconds, just ahead of Ethiopia’s Hawi Feysa and Adanech Anbesa.