The day Caster Semenya has been waiting for for more than a decade has arrived. The hearing at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) began today, 15 May 2024. It is there that the hearing will begin on whether the double Olympic gold medallist can be required to lower her testosterone levels in order to compete. 

"An important day," said the athlete. Her legal battle from court to court is coming to an end. It has taken time, effort and a lot of money, so much so that she has even asked for donations to help her cope.

She won the first battle at the ECHR in July 2023 with a ruling that she had been the victim of discrimination by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne. The latter tribunal had turned its back on her.

"This is an important day in my journey as a person and as an athlete. It has taken a long time to get here," said Semenya, the Olympic 800m champion in 2012 and 2016 and world champion in 2009, 2011 and 2017, as quoted by AFP.

"In 2009, I stood on the podium at the World Championships in Berlin after undergoing a sex test and knowing that the world was judging my body and questioning my gender. I have persevered with dignity in the face of oppression in the 15 years since," she added. Far from giving up, she has become stronger and has no intention of giving up now that she is in the final stages.

Semenya declared months ago,  "My career is over." She is not fighting to compete again, but for the future of others who may be affected by a similar case. "It is my hope that the court's decision paves the way for the human rights of all athletes to be firmly protected once and for all, and that it will inspire all young women to be themselves in all their diversity and acceptance."

Semenya's case is unique. She has been labelled as an athlete with "differences in sexual development" (DSD), but has always been legally identified as a woman. She has always stood her ground. She has refused to take drugs to lower her testosterone levels since World Athletics introduced its original rules in 2018. 

Then she went to CAS in 2019, which turned its back on her, arguing that "fair competition" was a "cardinal principle of sport" and that testosterone levels comparable to those of men gave athletes "an insurmountable advantage". She was forced to lower her levels with medication and refused.

In July 2023, the ECHR ruled four to three that the Swiss court's decision amounted to discriminating. Semenya won a symbolic victory. It did not allow her to compete. However, it was a significant step forward. However, the Swiss authorities, supported by World Athletics, appealed to the 17-member Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice. Their decision will be months in the making, but it will be a final one.

This Wednesday it was her lawyer, Schona Jolly, who spoke. She referred to the years of her client's sporting career that had been lost. She stressed the impact the court's decision would have "on the lives and dignity of many other international athletes."

The lawyer described as "unnecessary and supposedly corrective medical treatment" the medication Semenya was required to take under the competition rules. "Ms Semenya is a woman," Jolly added. "She was assigned the female sex at birth, in fact and in law. She has always lived as the woman she is."

In 2023, world athletics had another change to its rules. Athletes with DSD, like Semenya, must now reduce their blood testosterone levels to less than 2.5 nanomoles per litre, down from the previous level of five, and remain below that threshold for two years. World Athletics has abolished banned events for DSD athletes. This means: Either they reduce their testosterone levels or they cannot compete.