Semenya loses at Swiss supreme court over testosterone rules

Caster Semenya finally lost her long legal battle on Tuesday against track and field’s rules to limit female runners’ naturally high testosterone levels.

Switzerland’s supreme court said its judges dismissed Semenya’s appeal against a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling last year that upheld the rules drafted by track’s governing body affecting female runners with differences of sex development.

The ruling means Semenya cannot defend her Olympic 800-meter title at the Tokyo Games next year, or compete at any top meets in distances from 400 meters to the mile, unless she agrees to lower her testosterone level through medication or surgery - she has repeatedly said she won’t.

The federal judgment came more than a year after the two-time Olympic 800-meter champion lost a previous ruling from the same court.

***AFP***