Caster Semenya out of world 5000m as Coe signals tougher female sport rules

Caster Semenya’s first appearance in the world championships since 2017 saw her knocked out without fuss or fanfare after finishing 45 seconds off qualifying for Saturday’s 5000m final.

In temperatures that hit 32C, the South African finished 13th out of 16 runners in her heat in a time of 15 mins 46.12 secs, almost a minute behind the winner, Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia.

But she struck an upbeat note afterwards. “I’m cooking,” she told reporters. “It was hot and I could not keep up with the pace.

“I think it is great to be able to run here. Just being able to finish the 5km, for me it is a blessing. I am learning and I am willing to learn even more.”

Semenya had previously won the world title at 800m three times, including in her last appearance at London 2017, but is now barred from running international events from 400m to a mile unless she takes medication to reduce her testosterone levels.

That is because, as a 46 XY athlete with a difference of sex development, the Court of Arbitration of Sport has ruled that Semenya has an advantage over the female competitors against whom she races.

In 2019 when her case came to Cas, it also stated that “athletes with 46 XY DSD are ‘gonadally male’ meaning they have functioning tests that produce sperm and testosterone levels within the normal male range”.

There has been considerable sympathy for Semenya, as she was wrongly assigned as female at birth. However the Cas added that “athletes with a DSD will have exactly the same performance advantages over female athletes as non-DSD male athletes have.” It then quantified that advantage as between 10-12% in running events.

Semenya’s appearance at these world championships came as World Athletics president Sebastian Coe gave his