In a recent development, World Athletics has decided to uphold its testosterone regulations for female athletes, despite the landmark win of South African champion runner Caster Semenya at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday.
Semenya’s lawyer, Schona Jolly KC, expressed disappointment with World Athletics’ reaction to the court’s decision, emphasizing the significance of the ruling not only for Semenya but for athletes worldwide.
“This is a landmark win, obviously, for Caster (Semenya, Ed.), but for athletes more widely. And the reason for that is because until now, athletes, operated and sporting people more generally in a sort of human rights vacuum. It was in the gift of sports federations and organisations like World Athletics to say, well, we decide if human rights may or may not apply to you. It’s up to us”, said Schona Jolly KC.
The ECHR ruled that Semenya had faced discrimination due to track and field regulations that required her to medically lower her natural hormone levels to participate in major competitions.
However, World Athletics announced that it would maintain the controversial regulations despite the court’s decision.
“The European Court (of Human Rights, Ed.) said that’s not okay. It’s not okay for a whole category of people in this instance, professional sportspeople, just to be excluded from the protection of the convention. Professional sports people like Caster are entitled to have their fundamental rights properly considered, properly analysed. In this case, the violations of her rights were articles eight and 14, in other words, her right not to be discriminated against. Her right to a private life. Her right to a professional life. Her right to a personal life. All of those were fundamental rights, and she deserved to have those properly considered, properly scrutinised. They were not by World Athletics. They were not by the Court of Arbitration of Sports. And they were not by the Swiss Federal Tribunal. The court said that can’t happen. That can’t happen anymore. There is no more human rights vacuum for professional sportspeople”, explained the legal expert.
Semenya has been prevented from competing in her preferred 800-meter race since 2019 due to her refusal to artificially suppress her testosterone levels.
Consequently, she has lost four years of her career at the peak of her performance.
While the legal battle continues, Semenya’s case has brought attention to the complex intersection of human rights and athletic regulations. The decision by World Athletics to maintain its testosterone rules underscores the ongoing debate surrounding the inclusion and fair treatment of athletes with naturally higher testosterone levels.
As the sports world grapples with these issues, the future of regulations and the protection of athletes’ fundamental rights remains a subject of intense discussion and potential transformation.