LAUSANNE, May 30, 2019 - South African superstar Caster Semenya has filed an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland against the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport to uphold the new female eligibility regulations that will require her to artificially suppress her testosterone level if she wants to compete in international competitions.

CAS Ruling On 1 May, CAS announced its much-anticipated ruling on the contentious case against Semenya and in favour of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Hence the two-time Olympic and triple world 800 metres champion and other athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD) will have to reduce their natural levels of testosterone to compete in distances from 400m to a mile.

IAAF will not drug me “I am a woman and I am a world-class athlete. The IAAF will not drug me or stop me from being who I am,” Semenya said in the statement which announced her latest appeal on Wednesday 29 May.

The challenge from Semenya was widely expected. Two days after losing her appeal at the CAS, a defiant Semenya stormed to victory in the 800 metres event at the Diamond League meeting in Doha. She insisted she would not take medication to lower her testosterone levels but expressed confidence that she will return to the Qatari capital in September to defend her world title. 

Human rights must win Semenya is now hoping that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court will set aside the CAS ruling in its entirety. Dorothee Schramm of Sidley Austin LLP in Geneva will be leading Semenya’s appeal and she added in the statement that: “The IAAF regulations violate the most fundamental principles of Swiss public policy. In the race for justice, human rights must win over sporting interests.”

Schramm, also claimed that the CAS decision "condones the IAAF's requirements for unnecessary and unwanted hormonal drug interventions on female athletes despite the lack of any medical protocols and the uncertain health consequences of such interventions".

IAAF The IAAF’s new female eligibitility regulations came into effect on 8 May. In a question and answer press release that followed their victory at the CAS, the athletics’ world governing body claimed that the rules, which had been formulated based on "many scientific publications and observations from the field during the past 15 years", is not targeted at Semenya.