Caster Semenya has vowed to fight a ban on her running at next week's Diamond League event in Rabat.
The South African has been barred from running at the event by the Moroccan Athletics Federation. Their decision contravenes that of the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, which has suspended IAAF regulations which seek to limit the testosterone levels of athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD).
The rules require women with DSD to take medication to cap their testosterone levels if they're running races of 400m to 1500m. Last month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed Semenya's appeal against the ruling. On Wednesday (June 12) the IAAF failed in a bid to have the suspension of those regulations lifted by the Swiss Supreme Court. Athletics' world governing body has until June 25th to get that suspension overturned.
As things stand, Semenya will be allowed to defend her 800m title at the World Athletics Championships in Doha in August. The 28-year old won the 2,000m at a low-key event in Montreuil, France on Tuesday night, and had been set to run in the 3,000m in Eugene on June 30th. However, Semenya had switched her attention to the 800m in Rabat on June 16 instead.
In a press release, Semenya's representatives say she will fight the Moroccan Athletics Federation Ruling, "Caster is currently seeking clarity on the specific reasons for that decision, and she urges the IAAF to ensure its member federations comply with the law and the Supreme Court's orders."
Semenya herself is determined to take the fight even further, "I am a woman, but the IAAF has again tried to stop me from running the way I was born.
"The IAAF questions my sex, causes me great pain and required me to take hormonal drugs that made me feel constantly sick and unable to focus for many years.
"No other woman should be forced to go through this in order to have the same right that all women have – to do what we love and run the way we were born."
Speaking last month on OTB AM, sports scientist Ross Tucker said the evidence cited by the IAAF was not strong enough to warrant the potential health implications that taking hormone suppressors could cause.
Tucker said the evidence at the CAS hearing was neither "strong, nor trustworthy", adding, "I understand that this is such a complex issue that doing the perfect study is impossible. The good research here is unethical and the ethical research is just not good. But, this research was bad."
