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Caster Semenya criticised IOC plan to reinstate gender verification tests for Los Angeles 2028, calling it disrespect for women and harmful.
South African athelte Caster Semenya (PTI/AP)
South African athlete Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic 800 metres champion, said on Sunday that the IOC’s decision to reinstate gender verification tests for the 2028 Los Angeles Games was “a disrespect for women”.
The former hyperandrogenic athlete also expressed disappointment that the measure was introduced under the leadership of the new IOC president, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe.
“For me, personally, for her being a woman coming from Africa, knowing how African women or women in the Global South are affected by that, of course, it causes harm,” Caster Semenya said during a press conference in Cape Town on the sidelines of a sporting competition.
IOC’s Mandate On Gender Testing
““Eligibility for any female-category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including both individual and team sports, is now restricted to biological females,” the International Olympic Committee stated, noting that this will be determined by a mandatory genetic test taken once in an athlete’s career.
The eligibility policy, which will apply from the LA Olympics in July 2028, “protects fairness, safety and integrity in the female category,” the IOC said.
“It is not retroactive and does not apply to any grassroots or recreational sports programs,” said the IOC, whose Olympic Charter states that access to play sport is a human right.
Semenya Vs IOC – A History
At the 2016 Games, Caster Semenya, Francine Niyonsaba and Margaret Wambui won the medals in the women’s 800 metres, with all three classified as having differences of sexual development (DSD).
Since 2019, all three have been ineligible to compete in the women’s 800 metres, after World Athletics introduced stricter eligibility regulations for events from 400 metres to one mile.
The rules require athletes with DSD to medically reduce their naturally high testosterone levels in order to compete in those events.
Semenya refused to do so, arguing that the regulations were discriminatory and violated her rights. Wambui has not competed since the rules were implemented seven years ago, while Niyonsaba switched to longer distances.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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March 29, 2026, 2:07 pm IST
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