IAAF to challenge Swiss court's Semenya decision

The IAAF has said it would fight a Swiss court decision to suspend its rules obliging athletes, including double Olympic champion Caster Semenya, to lower their testosterone levels in order to compete in certain events. Switzerland's highest court last week temporarily suspended the IAAF rules following an appeal by Semenya, Sport24 reports. The athlete was contesting a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport which previously found that the rules were 'discriminatory' but 'necessary' to ensure fairness in women's athletics. 'The IAAF will continue to fight for equal rights and opportunities for all women and girls in our sport today and in the future,' it said in a statement, adding that it was committed to the 'full participation of women' in athletics. It said it would 'seek a swift reversion of the super-provisional order moving forwards'. The IAAF and Semenya's legal team must now make further submissions to the court, which will decide on whether to order a longer suspension of the measures. The rules require women with higher than normal male hormone levels, a condition known as hyperandrogenism, to lower the amount of testosterone in their bodies artificially if they are to compete in races over distances of 400m to the mile.