South African athlete Caster Semenya can compete in male events, the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) said on Wednesday. In a letter to World Medical Association (WMA) president Dr Leonid Eidelman and the WMA board, the IAAF also said that Semenya — and other athletes like her — can compete in the female categories in any distance other than those between 400m and a mile (1.6km). This would include the 5,000m, which Semenya won at the South African Athletics Championships in April. The IAAF letter comes after the WMA at the weekend urged doctors not to enforce the controversial new IAAF laws for female athletes. The IAAF defended its stance on the regulations and said that it was “the athlete’s right to decide (in consultation with their medical team) whether or not to proceed with any assessment and/or treatment”. However, if she decided not to take the treatments, which would lower her testosterone levels, “she will not be entitled to compete in the femal...
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