by A top European court will decide on Thursday whether the double Olympic champion Caster Semenya can be obliged to reduce her testosterone level in order to compete as a woman, when an important decision on controversial gender examination.
The decision of the European Court of Human Rights after a series of the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 had been received by the gender of an Algerian boxing champion.
The 34 -year -old South African runner Semenya was in 2012 and 2016 of the Olympic 800 -meter champion and the world medalist 2009, 2011 and 2017.
It is classified as “differences in sexual development”, but was always legally identified as female.
Semenya has refused to take drugs to lower testosterone levels, since World Athletics Athletics introduced new rules for women’s competitors in 2018.
Since then she has been participating in competitions from her application in her preferred 800 m.
Semenya said she hope that the ECHR will protect the athletes’ human rights and “all young women will inspire to accept themselves in all their diversity and to accept themselves”.
Antoine Duval, an expert for sports rights at the Asser Institute in the Hague, said the case “would determine what would come next to question the rules for access to women’s competitions”.
Semenya has already tried other tribunals to try to change the rules.
The Lausanne -based court for arbitration proceedings for Sport (CAS) decided against her in 2019 and the decision was confirmed by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne in 2020. It was assessed that a testosterone level comparable to men gave “an insurmountable advantage”.
– ‘Human guinea pig’ – –
The ECHR in 2023 decided that Semenya was the victim of discrimination against the CAS.
The Swiss authorities supported by World Athletics appealed to the 17-member Grand Chamber of the European Court.
However, the ECHR decision was mostly symbolic, since it neither questioned the World Athletics Regulation nor to allow Semenya to return to competition without medication.
There are many types of “differences in sexual development”, a group of rare diseases in which genes, hormones and reproductive organs are involved.
Known earlier than intersexuality, they occur in approximately one of 1,000 to 4,500 births.
Before the 2009 World Championships, in which Semenya won the 800 M -Gold at the age of only 18, she had to undergo gender tests.
It was then set up medication to reduce the testosterone mirror and spent on the World Athletics for several months.
Semenya, born with the “46 XY” thromosome instead of the XX chromosome that most women have, said she had the feeling that she was treated like a “human guinea pig” and swore to never allow it to allow it again.
Testosterone is produced by men and women, but men produce 20 -more sex hormone.
How much the hormone performance increases remains a question of the debate.
– ‘dismantling’ – –
The International Olympic Committee is burdening the reintroduction of the gender -specific tests, while several sports have already accepted practice.
World Athletics and World Boxing carried out chromosomalt tests -generally a cheek smear for checking the Sry gene, which shows the presence of the Y chromosome.
Weltaquatik in 2023 took over a policy that provides for such tests.
Supporters say that such screening simplifies access to the women’s competition, and the UN reporting Reem said that such tests were “reliable and not invasive”.
But Madeleine Pape, a sociologist of gender in sport, says there is a lack of studies that show that transgender athletes or those with one of the many forms of DSD receive a “disproportionate advantage” compared to XX competitors.
Human Rights Watch has argued that World Athletics regulations “are humiliating privacy and invasive, for reasons that are scientifically competitive”.
The gender -specific debate laid down again in June about the Paris Olympia Box Champion IMANE KHELIF.
Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Harry Potter author JK Rowling were among those who sought a series of the gender of Algerian.
Bur-Pau-AH/JH
