South Africans Vow to Support Semenya, Campaign Against Swiss Court’s Ruling

South African rights groups have vowed to petition the United Nations and African Union over the latest ruling that the country’s Olympic 800-metre champion Caster Semenya cannot compete unless she takes hormone-suppressing drugs.

Switzerland’s Supreme Court last week dismissed Semenya’s appeal against a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on eligibility criteria for athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD).

The South African two-times gold medallist, who has elevated testosterone due to DSD, identifies as a woman and races as a woman.

But for World Athletics, women with some masculine attributes like Semenya have an unfair advantage — a position hotly contested by South African officials.

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