Olympic champion Semenya 'elated' after ruling in testosterone case, but has 'suffered'

Champion runner Caster Semenya is "elated" at the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in her favour in her legal battle against track and field rules that force her to suppress her natural testosterone to compete, she said in a statement Wednesday.

But while Tuesday's ruling found that the two-time Olympic champion in the 800 metres had been discriminated against, the court didn't strike down the contentious athletics regulations.

That meant no immediate return to the track for the 32-year-old South African, who has been barred from her favourite event for the last four years.

The European Court of Human Rights court found that Semenya had valid claims of discrimination for being forced by track and field's governing body to medically suppress her hormone levels if she wants to run in women's races at the Olympics, world championships and other top meets.

The rights court said that previous decisions by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2019 and Switzerland's supreme court in 2020 also didn't deal with "serious questions" over the rules when they rejected Semenya's appeals.

Questions, the court said, like possible side effects for athletes taking near-constant medication to suppress their hormones, the difficulties athletes face in keeping their natural testosterone below a prescribed level, and the possible lack of scientific evidence that the testosterone does provide an unfair athletic advantage.

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Semenya has refused to follow the rules since 2019 and has not been allowed to compete at elite events in the 800 metres, where she won Olympic gold in 2012 and 2016. She didn't defend her title at the last Olympics in 2021 because of