Two-time Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya has scored a significant, though partial, victory in her long legal battle against discriminatory regulations targeting athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD).
On July 10, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Switzerland’s top court had denied Semenya a fair hearing when she appealed a decision upholding World Athletics’ testosterone regulations. These rules, which she has long argued are unfair, have kept her from competing in her signature 800-meter race since 2019.
Background: A Champion Sidelined
Semenya, a South African middle-distance runner, burst onto the international scene with her gold medal wins in the 800m at both the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Games. However, her athletic career was thrown into turmoil in 2018, when World Athletics implemented regulations requiring women with certain DSD conditions to lower their naturally occurring testosterone levels in order to compete in certain races.
These regulations apply to events ranging from 400 meters to one mile, precisely the distances where Semenya dominated. Rather than take testosterone-reducing medication, she chose to sit out those events entirely.
The Long Road to Strasbourg
After unsuccessfully challenging the rules in 2020 at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland, Semenya escalated her case to the European Court of Human Rights. In 2023, the ECHR ruled that Switzerland had failed to uphold her rights during the CAS appeal. That decision was further reviewed by the ECHR’s Grand Chamber, which issued this week’s ruling.
According to the Grand Chamber, the CAS had “fallen short” of its obligations under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to a fair trial. However, the court also determined that some of Semenya’s other complaints, including concerns about her private life, were inadmissible because they fell outside of Swiss jurisdiction.
Athlete Reactions and What Comes Next
In a statement to the BBC, Semenya welcomed the ruling as “great for me, great for athletes,” adding, “This is a reminder to the leaders [that] athletes need to be protected. Before we can regulate, we have to respect athletes and put their rights first.”
While this decision does not directly overturn World Athletics’ regulations, it sets a precedent that could open the door for future legal challenges, and adds a powerful voice to the ongoing conversation about fairness, inclusion, and bodily autonomy in international sport.
For now, Semenya remains benched from her best events, but this victory reinforces her status not just as a world-class athlete, but as a fierce advocate for the dignity and rights of all athletes.
