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Two-time Olympic champion, Caster Semenya files lawsuit at European Court of Human Rights

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STRASBOURG, 26 February, 2021 (TON): South Africa’s Caster Semenya, two-time Olympic champion is going to the European Court of Human Rights, said the athlete’s lawyers on Thursday.

The event is set to open on 23 July and could be Semenya's last shot at the games.

The lawsuit is to challenge perceived discriminatory World Athletics’ regulations that prohibit her from competing in certain women’s track events unless she medically lowers her naturally high testosterone levels.

World Athletics says that Semenya’s levels of testosterone are much higher than that of a perceived typical female range, concluding that this gives her and other athletes like her an unfair advantage over other female runners.

Semenya is not the only athlete contending with this issue, two other Olympic medalists from Africa, Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi and Margaret Wambui of Kenya, have stated that are bound by the same rules, adding that they would refuse to undergo medical intervention to reduce their testosterone levels.

The 800 meters dash winning-athlete has already lost two legal appeals but her lawyers say that there has been a violation of her rights and want the human rights court to examine the rules ideally in time for the delayed Tokyo Olympics.

 

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