South African sees Tokyo Olympics ambitions thwarted after legal decision does not go in her favour

Caster Semenya will be unable to go for a third consecutive Olympic 800m title after losing her latest appeal against testosterone rules.

The 29-year-old reacted angrily to the decision by insisting she will not let World Athletics “drug” her. She also accused the global governing body of “being on the wrong side of history”.

A Swiss federal tribunal said on Tuesday (Sept 8) that it supported a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last year that World Athletics’ policy for athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD) was “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” to ensure fair competition in women’s sport.

These regulations state that any athlete with a DSD and testosterone levels above 5nmol/L of blood must take medication to reduce that level. Introduced in 2019, the rules apply to distances from 400m to the mile.

But Semenya believes she is being penalised for what she argues are natural genetic gifts. However the World Athletics’ stance is to protect the female category in competition.

In a statement, World Athletics said: “For the last five years World Athletics has fought for and defended equal rights and opportunities for all women and girls in our sport today and in the future.

“We therefore welcome today’s decision by the Swiss Federal Tribunal to uphold our DSD regulations as a legitimate and proportionate means of protecting the right of all female athletes to participate in our sport on fair and meaningful terms.”

Semenya said: “I am very disappointed by this ruling, but refuse to let World Athletics drug me or stop me from being who I am. Excluding female athletes or endangering our health solely because of our natural abilities puts World Athletics on the wrong side of history.”

Semenya can still appeal to the European court of human rights, although the Swiss federal tribunal suggests such an appeal is unlikely to succeed.