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South African Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya is taking her battle with the World Athletics Championships to the European Court of Human Rights, her lawyers said Tuesday, in a bid to overturn the hormone and drug rule.
The legal action comes two years since the World Athletics governing body in 2018 banned Semenya and others with sexually developed differences (DSDs) from running between 400 meters and one mile unless they take testosterone-lowering drugs.
“We will take World Athletics to the European Court of Human Rights,” its lawyer Gregory Nott said in a statement, without specifying the deadline.
“We are hopeful that World Athletics will see the mistake it has made and reverse the prohibitive rules that restrict the participation of Ms. Semenya.”
The defiant two-time Olympic gold medalist, who has vowed to fight the ban, has unsuccessfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the Swiss Federal Court (SFT).
Semenya, 29, who has elevated testosterone levels due to DSD, identifies as a female and runs as a female.
But for World Athletics, women with some masculine attributes like Semenya have an unfair advantage, a position hotly contested by South African officials.
Parliament, the South African Commission for Human Rights and the South African Commission for Gender Equality are among those who have supported Semenya in the fight.
His attorneys said the growing support from institutions and bodies around the world for the athlete was encouraging amid the legal battles.
“We remain inspired by the indomitable spirit of Ms. Semenya and will remain steadfast in our position against discrimination until she is allowed to escape persecution,” Nott said.
Semenya has run the 200-meter sprint for several months, which is outside the world athletics regulations.
It is unclear if he will run that distance at the Tokyo Olympics next year when competing for Athletics South Africa.
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