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Caster Semenya and her team of lawyers are expected to finally lodge their appeal before the Swiss Federal Court in Switzerland this week, just on time before the window period lapses.
Her lawyer Greg Nott confirmed that they were going ahead with their bid to overturn the ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld the IAAF’s controversial regulations that compel “classified athletes” to take medication to reduce their natural testosterone levels.
Semenya (28) has made it clear that she won’t comply with the world athletics governing body’s rules that came into effect on May 8.
Her legal team has argued before the arbitration court during a marathon hearing in March that the IAAF’s regulations were “discriminatory, irrational and unjustifiable”.
As they prepare to head to the federal court, Knott compared their readiness to that of the athlete they were representing.
“Caster’s legal team is as resolute and determined to succeed as the champion she is,” he said.
Nott and his team have constantly contested that the rules were ethically dubious and were a violation of Semenya’s human rights, as well as specifically targeting her.
The rules apply in her specialists events – the 800m and 1 500m – which fall between the IAAF’s so-called “classified events” that ranges from the 400m to the mile (about 1.6km).
Semenya has done more longer distances so far this season and last week she was confirmed among the entries for the 3000m final in the US Diamond League leg of Prefontaine Classic in Eugene on June 30.
This will be her second international race since she won the 800m at the Doha, Qatar Diamond meeting early this month, just a few days before the implementation of the rules.
Although Semenya’s move to run longer distances can easily be interpreted as her ducking the IAAF’s restricted events, the transition has been on the cards for a while.
The Limpopo-born runner indicated prior to the 2017 wold championships and last year’s Commonwealth Games that she was planning to move from the 800m, citing her dominance over the distance for a decade as the main reason.
The idea, said Semenya at the time, was to take the challenge to the Ethiopians in the longer ranges.
She won the 1500m and the 5000m at the SA Senior Championships in Germiston last month.
Meanwhile, in addition to her legal teams, the athlete is expected to reinforce the already strong representation that has SA’s Norton Rose Fullbright and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP from Canada with another as yet unnamed European law firm.
The SA government, through the sport ministry, has also reaffirmed its backing of Semenya and Minister Thokozile Xasa has already instructed Athletics SA to lodge the papers with the Swiss Federal Tribunal.
While Semenya goes to and fro between the courts, her ongoing battle has already seen her miss out on top competition, particularly in the Diamond series.
Based on her pattern from previous seasons, the two-time Olympic champion mostly competed in the US, Morocco, Norway, Sweden, France and Switzerland.
It remains to be seen what impact will the ongoing legal fight with the IAAF have on her plans for this season, including the global championships in Doha from September 27 to October 6.
