The International Association of Athletics Federations on Thursday introduced controversial new rules for female athletes who have high testosterone levels in a move seen as targeting South Africa’s double Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya.
The new rules will allow such athletes to compete only if they take medication to reduce naturally occurring levels of testosterone.
Semenya has long raised controversy because of her powerful physique and deep voice related to hyperandrogenism, the medical condition which causes a person to produce high levels of male sex hormones.
Semenya, a triple World champion over 800m and who completed the 800-1500 double at the Commonwealth Games this month, responded to the new rules on Twitter: “I am 97 per cent sure you don’t like me but I’m 100 per cent sure I don’t care.”
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has for years struggled to create a “level playing field” for female athletes while respecting Semenya's rights.
Dutee in the clear
Meanwhile, Indian sprinter Dutee Chand will be a relieved person after four years of ordeal as she no longer falls in the purview of the new rules.
Dutee competes in 100m and 200m while the new rules cover races from 400m to the mile, including 400m, hurdles races, 800m, 1500m, one-mile races and combined events over the same distances.
