Insight into Caster Semenya's court battle
Darren, Keri, and Sky spoke to Dr. Ross Tucker, a sports science and research consultant who gave them insights into Caster Semenya's battle with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Listen to the podcast or read the story below:
Athletics South Africa says they’re deeply disappointed with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, after having their request for arbitration in the Caster Semenya case dismissed yesterday.
The organisation says they’re considering taking the matter to the Swiss Federal Tribunal within the next 30 days, as stipulated in the ruling. It’s been just under 24 hours since the world found out the devastating news regarding Semenya.
A dark cloud dawned over South Africa’s darling when news broke that attempts to have the controversial new International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) regulations overturned had failed. All hope is not lost though, as the 28-year-old middle distance runner says she will also consider taking the fight back to court.
According to her legal team, Semenya is reviewing the decision and considering whether to file an appeal. The new rules force athletes with differences of sexual development to take medication in order to reduce their natural testosterone levels to 5nmol/L, should they wish to compete internationally over distances ranging from 400m to a mile.
However, these regulations would need to be continually reviewed moving forward and potential changes could be necessary.
The IAAF says that while they will keep all practical matters of implementation under periodic review, its new regulations will come into effect from the 8th of May.
Should Semenya wish to defend her Olympic 800m title next year in Tokyo, Japan, she would need to abide by the new regulations. This would see her being sidelined for at least SIX months, as the medication she would be required to take is likely to hamper her progress on the track.
Dr Ross Tucker is a science and research consultant for World Rugby, where his role is basically to support all strategic decisions that involve player welfare (so injury, concussion, player health), High Performance (performance analysis, performance audits), and Law (law change and monitoring).
Read: Semenya loses court challenge against IAAF testosterone rules