Caster Semenya Wins Appeal, But Still Can't Compete In Women's Events Without Hormone Suppression

Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya earned a partial legal victory Thursday in a long-running battle against World Athletics over rules that limit testosterone levels in women's track and field competitions.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled 15-2 in Semenya’s favor, finding that Swiss courts failed to properly hear the athlete's appeal. However, the decision does not overturn World Athletics' policy requiring athletes with certain intersex conditions to medically reduce testosterone levels in order to compete in women's events.

Caster Semenya claims World Athletics' policy regarding DSD athletes is discriminatory.

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images for World Athletics)

Semenya, a two-time Olympic champion, has a condition called 46 XY 5-alpha-reductase deficiency (5-ARD), one of several disorders of sexual development (DSDs). That means the South African native has male XY chromosomes and produces male-levels of testosterone. This results in significant athletic advantages over women, including increased muscle mass, oxygen uptake and strength.

And those advantages couldn't be more obvious. It's not a coincidence that the entire podium for the women's 800-meter final at the 2016 Rio Olympics — Semenya (gold), Francine Niyonsaba (silver), and Margaret Wambui (bronze) — consisted entirely of DSD athletes with XY chromosomes.

The entire podium for the women's 800m final at the 2016 Summer Olympics consisted of XY intersex athletes with male levels of testosterone.

(Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

In 2019, World Athletics changed its policy to require all DSD athletes to suppress testosterone levels in order to participate in women's middle-distance events. Since then, Semenya has repeatedly refused to take hormone-suppressing drugs, rendering the sprinter ineligible to compete in elite-level events — including, of course, the Olympics.

The 34-year-old has never denied having partly male anatomy. In fact, in a 2023 interview, Semenya declared, "Having internal testicles doesn't make me less of a woman."

Except it does.

Caster Semenya Began A Legal Battle Against World Athletics

After losing legal challenges at both the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the Swiss Federal Tribunal, Semenya took the case to the ECHR. This latest appeal did not argue the science behind World Athletics' policy but instead focused on alleged human rights violations and the claim that Swiss courts failed to protect Semenya's dignity, health and privacy.

"It's a battle for human rights now," Semenya recently told reporters. "It's not about competing. It's about putting athletes' rights first. It's about the protection of athletes."

The ECHR sided with Semenya, writing in its ruling that the Swiss Federal Court had not carried out a "rigorous judicial review" and that it "did not fall within Switzerland’s jurisdiction" to investigate those complaints.

But that doesn't change the fact that World Athletics' policy requires DSD athletes to lower their level of testosterone to below 2.5 nmol/L for at least six months to compete.

World Athletics told Reuters they had no comment on Thursday's ruling, but they have previously denied any attempt to discriminate against athletes.

"World Athletics has only ever been interested in protecting the female category. If we don't, then women and young girls will not choose sport. That is, and has always been, the Federation's sole motivation," World Athletics said.

"We remain of the view that the DSD regulations are a necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of protecting fair competition in the female category, as the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Swiss Federal Tribunal both found, after a detailed and expert assessment of the evidence."

Caster Semenya of South Africa competes in the Women's 800m Semifinals at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Semenya's legal team celebrated the court's decision as a step forward. But unless further legal action overturns World Athletics' rules, Semenya remains barred from competing in women's events without complying with testosterone-level requirements.

The verdict, though, could open the door for Semenya to continue challenging the requirements themselves — opening up a whole new can of worms when it comes to DSD athletes at the Olympics.