The European Court of Human Rights (TEDH) ruled on Thursday that Switzerland violated the right of hyperandrogenic athlete Caster Semenya to a fair trial. However, the entity has not commented on the hormonal treatment that World Athletics requires South African to compete.
TEDH’s decision was expected in the sports world, where the issue of athletes’ genre remains in evidence, as occurred during the Paris 2024 Olympics with the Algerian boxer and Olympic champion Imane Khelif.
Since 2018, the two-time South African Olympic champion has not participated in international competitions and fights in the courts against hormonal treatment to reduce her testosterone rate, imposed by the World Athletics Federation so she can compete.
The 800-meter gold medalist (London-2012 and Rio 2016) and three-time world champion (2009, 2011 and 2017) produces a natural manner of male hormones (androgens) that can increase their muscle mass and improve their performance.
World Athletics, however, has required hyperandrogenic athletes to reduce their natural testosterone rate with hormonal treatment to participate in international competitions in the women’s category.
Semenya rejects the rule because she considered her discriminatory. However, the appeals presented to the Arbitral Court of Sport (CAS, based in Lausanne) and the Supreme Federal Court of Switzerland were rejected in 2019 and 2020. The Swiss Court declined the appeal in the name of equity in competitions, understanding that a testosterone rate comparable to men gives female athletes “an unsurpassed advantage”.
However, the TEDH considered on Thursday that the Federal Court of Switzerland “did not act sufficiently about the doubts expressed, nor reached the level of rigor required” to respond to Semenya’s appeal against the rules applied to “DDS) athletes” (DDS). The Paneuropeia Court, based in Strasbourg (northeast of France), decided that Switzerland violated the athlete’s right to a fair trial and condemned the country to pay € 80 thousand (R $ 525 thousand) of court costs.
The decision of the Great Tedh Chamber also represented a setback for Semenya, in particular because this Court had initially decided in 2023 that South African was the victim of discrimination and violation of its private life. Switzerland appealed the decision at the time.
“Luta will never end”
After the decision, the South African athlete appealed to the authorities in Strasbourg, who, according to her, should “protect the athletes” and promised to continue fighting. “The fight will never end as long as there is injustice,” he said.
Since his revelation to the general public at the Berlin-2009 Athletics World Cup, in which he won the gold medal, his physical appearance and serious voice generated debates and speculation about the 34-year-old athlete’s genre, which was always a woman.
After her victory in the German capital, the athlete was prevented from competing for 11 months and forced to undergo “femininity” tests whose results remain secret. In July 2010, she was authorized to compete again, but in 2018 the World Athletics regulation changed everything.
The European Human Rights Court did not comment on the regulation, nor directly paved the way for the participation of Semenya in 800 meters without treatment.
World Athletics further hardened the rules in 2023 for hyperandrogenic athletes and in March approved the introduction of the analysis of a oral sample to determine if an athlete is biologically a woman.
The date of introduction of the measure was not established, but can be implemented for the Tokyo Athletics World Cup this year (September 13 to 21), according to the organization.
In addition to the Semenya case, the gender issue shakes the world of sport in general. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) evaluates reintroduce gender checks, pressured by various sports.
World Athletics and World Boxing, the World Boxing Federation, have already announced the adoption of chromosomal tests, something that World Aquatics, the Swimming Federation, had already foreseen in 2023.
The idea is to admit “athletes XX” – according to the term of the World Athletics – and exclude transgender women and those considered female, but which have XY chromosomes, one of the forms of DDS or biological intersexuality.
(With AFP)
