Caster Semenya, who is battling the sport’s governing IAAF over rules that prevent her from running her preferred distance races unless she takes testosterone-suppressant medication, won a 2,000 metres at the Montreuil athletics meeting on Tuesday.
The double Olympic champion has appealed a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision that supported the IAAF’s rule that XY chromosome athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs), like Semenya, can only race in distances from 400m to a mile if they take medication to lower their testosterone levels.
“I can run any distance I want,” the South African told reporters after winning her race in five minutes 38.19 in front of 1,650 spectators on the outskirts of Paris.
“I don’t have time for nonsense, I don’t have time for messages for anyone. I said a long time ago that I’m going to focus on myself.”
Asked if she would be defending her 800m title at the world championships, which start in September, Semenya replied: “Of course I’m an athlete, a world class athlete. My goals are very clear, I think I’ve made a statement in Doha (in May), running in 1:54 (.98), it’s pretty clear to me.”
Semenya has appealed to the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT), who ruled last week that she can run in her favoured 800m event without taking medication until her appeal has been ruled on.
Her next race is expected to be the 3,000 metres of the Prefontaine Classic in Stanford, California, on June 30.
– Reuters
