The International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) request to re-impose its new rule on South African World and Olympic Champion Caster Semenya has been rejected by the Swiss Supreme Court, APA learnt on Saturday.
The ruling means that Semenya, to the disappointment of IAAF President Sebastian Coe who has been trying to end her glittering running career, can continue to compete pending the end of her appeal with a Swiss tribunal.
Following her failure to convince the Swiss Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) in April to shoot down Coe’s new regulation to ban her from running the 800m, Semenya appealed to Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court (SFT) against the world governing body’s misrule restricting testosterone levels in female runners.
With the temporary suspension, the SFT has agreed to set aside the IAAF’s discriminatory regulation that targeted three African female athletes from South Africa, Burundi and Kenya.
But as soon as the tribunal pronounced this temporary measure, the IAAF rushed to the Swiss court to reverse its decision to suspend the restrictions.
However, the SFT promptly rejected the IAAF’s urgent petition, thereby allowing Semenya to resume her running her favourite 800m races.
This will enable the South African to return to the Diamond League races which are overseen by the IAAF till her appeal has been heard and decided upon, her lawyers said.
The IAAF’s controversial rules state that Semenya — and two fellow African athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD) — must either take medication in order to compete in track events from 400m to the mile, or change to another distance.
Three-time world champion Semenya said: “No woman should be subjected to these rules. I thought hard about not running the 800m in solidarity unless all women can run free. But I will run now to show the IAAF that they cannot drug us.”
NM/as/APA