Semenya Wins 2,000m Paris Race in Paris After Appeal Against IAAF Ruling
In her first race since filing an appeal against the IAAFs ruling to restrict testosterone levels in female runners, Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya has won the over 2,000m race at the Meeting de Montreuil in France
Semenya, 28, finished in five minutes 38.19 seconds ahead of Ethiopias Hawi Feysa and Adanech Anbesa in Paris.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) ruling means she may have to change from her favoured 800m.
“I am a talented athlete, I am not worried about anything,” she said.
“I can run any event I want. It can be 100m, 200m, the long jump, heptathlon, you name it.”
The double Olympic and three-time world champion added: “Even if I have to withdraw from the 800m, it doesnt matter no more, I think I have won everything I ever wanted.
“I am not an idiot, why would I take drugs? I am a pure athlete, not a cheat. They should focus on doping not us.”
The South African is appealing to Switzerlands Federal Supreme Court after losing her case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport last month.
That new rule would require her to take testosterone-reducing medicine to compete at distances between 800m and a mile or change to another distance.
On Monday, Semenya was named in South Africas preliminary squad for the World Championships in Doha later this year to compete at 800m – but her inclusion depends on the outcome of her appeal.
Last week the Swiss court suspended the IAAFs ruling, allowing her to temporarily compete without taking testosterone-reducing medicine.
The IAAF says it will seek a “swift reversal” of the SFTs decision.
The courts “superprovisional order” will also only apply until 25 June – the date by which the IAAF must respond to the court on Semenyas case.
The World Championships will take place from September 28 to October 6, 2019.
Semenya is set to race in the 3,000m at the Prefontaine Classic in Stanford, California on June 30, 2019.
