Caster Semenya, the two-time 800m Olympic champion, faced discrimination due to rules that required her to lower her testosterone levels for continued competition, according to a judgment from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Despite being born a female at birth, Semenya has a natural condition that results in higher testosterone levels compared to women without the condition.
These limits on testosterone prevented her from participating in her preferred distance unless she used medication.
Previous legal challenges were rejected, but the ECHR found her human rights violated, specifically citing violations of Article 14 (discrimination) and Article 13 (absence of effective remedies against discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The discrimination was caused by the sports governing body known as the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which has now branded itself as ‘World Athletics’.
Following her victory at the IAAF World Championships in 2009, her success came under scrutiny.
The combination of her rapid athletic progression and her appearance culminated in the IAAF (World Athletics) asking her to take a sex verification test to ascertain whether she was female.
IAAF officials said they were “obliged to investigate”
Many accused the discrimination and gender testing as being an undertone of European racism and imperialism.