New IAAF rules could force Semenya out of 800m, 1,500m

What you need to know:

  • This effectively means that athletes with hyperandogenism, or high levels of male hormones, will be restricted to compete in certain events only.
  • According to sources close to the IAAF, the new world athletics governing body’s rules to be announced shortly, Semenya and other athletes with hyperandrogenism will have to seek medical attention to reduce their testosterone levels to acceptable levels, or be forced to only compete in events outside the 400 metres to the 1,500 metres or the mile.

South Africa’s multiple world, Olympic and Commonwealth track champion Caster Semenya’s future in the sport remains uncertain after the world athletics governing body on Thursday published new rules on hyperandrogenism that seek to create a level playing field in women’s track competitions.

The new rules effectively sideline female athletes with dominant male hormones, like Semenya, 27, who recently completed a double victory in the 800 and 1,500 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, to add onto her Africa, world and Olympic titles.

Responding to an international court’s challenge that it provides scientific evidence that some female athletes have unfair hormonal advantage in track races, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Thursday said several study groups it commissioned had proven beyond reasonable doubt that there were advantages of high testosterone levels in women’s competition.

Hyperandrogenism is, basically, a condition in which a female produces excessive levels of male sex hormones, such as testosterone, which increase athletic ability.

The new IAAF rules set the limit of testosterone levels in female athletes at five nanogrammes per litre.

Speaking exclusively to Nation Sport on Thursday, Dr Stephane Bermon, the Head of the Health and Science Department at the IAAF headquarters in Monaco, said the normal testosterone levels in women are between 0.12 to 1.79 nanogrammes per litre with male levels starting at around eight to up to 30 nanogrammes per litre.

The IAAF’s new rules take effect from November 1 this year and have been published as ‘Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification (Athlete with Differences of Sexual Development)’.

They replace the previous ‘Regulations Governing Eligibility of Females with Hyperandrogenism to Compete in Women's Competition.’

RECORDS REMAIN INTACT

The IAAF, however, noted that past records and medals won by female athletes with hyperandrogenism will remain intact.

“We are operating as though there was no law before, and no athlete will lose her medal or title,” Dr Bermon said.

“The new rules will only affect competitions after November 1, 2018.”

Dr Bermon said the rules will be applicable to women’s competitions from the 400 metres to the mile.

The IAAF observed that the new rules coming into play on November 1 effectively gives a six-month window for female athletes with high testosterone levels to seek medical redress.

This means that Semenya and other athletes with dominant male hormones will only be eligible to compete in the short sprints (100 and 200 metres) or in events from 3,000 metres up, with the IAAF’s studies indicating they hold no undue advantage in these races.

“Most females (including elite female athletes) have low levels of testosterone circulating naturally in their bodies (0.12 to 1.79 nmol/L in blood), while after puberty the normal male range is much higher (7.7 – 29.4 nmol/L),” the IAAF said in a statement released from its Monaco headquarters.

“There is a broad medical and scientific consensus that if these individuals are sensitive to androgens (i.e., they have properly‐functioning androgen receptors), such very high levels of natural testosterone can increase their muscle mass and strength, as well as their levels of circulating haemoglobin, and so significantly enhance their sporting potential,” the statement added.

The IAAF had introduced similar rules on hyperandrogenism in 2011 after protests followed Semenya’s victory in the 800m at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin, but they were challenged by an Indian sprinter, Dutee Chand, prompting the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to suspend the regulations.

In 2015, CAS challenged the IAAF to table scientific evidence, within two years, that athletes with hyperadrogenism held unfair advantage in competitions.

Under the new rules, such athletes, referred to as DSDs (athletes with Differences in Sex Development) now have a six-month window to reduce the levels of male hormones.

“If a female athlete wishing to participate in a restricted event at an international competition has a DSD that results in levels of circulating testosterone greater than 5 nmol/L, and her androgen receptors function properly, such that those elevated levels of circulating testosterone have a material androgenising effect, she must reduce those levels down below 5 nmol/L for six months (e.g., by use of hormonal contraceptives) before competing in such events, and must maintain them below that level until she no longer wishes to participate in restricted events at international competitions,” the IAAF statement explained.

The world athletics governing body stressed that no surgical or anatomical changes will be required “in any circumstances” from athletes with hyperandrogenism.

IAAF also said it would handle all tests in the event an athlete is suspected to have high levels of testosterone.

“In some countries, there is lack of confidentiality and information leaks,” Dr Bermon explained.

“By only the IAAF handling these cases is a guarantee of quality. The less information passes through many hands, the better.”