IAAF Sebastian Coe’s comments open ‘old wounds’ for Semenya
Double Olympic 800m champion seeks to differentiate her case from those of transgender athletes in female sporting arena
Cape Town — Double Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya says she is “no threat” to women’s sport and that recent comments from International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president Sebastian Coe have reopened old wounds. Semenya is awaiting a Court of Arbitration for Sport verdict on her appeal against an IAAF regulation that reads female athletes classed as having differences in sexual development (DSDs) gain an unfair advantage due to their higher testosterone levels, though only in races between 400m and 1,000m. Under the new rules, athletes classed as having DSDs must reduce their blood testosterone level to below five nmol/l for six months before they can compete. They must then maintain it below that level continuously. The court had been due to announce its decision on Tuesday but has postponed it until late April.
Coe told Australia’s Daily Telegraph at the weekend: “The reason we have gender classification is because if you didn’t then no woman would eve...
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