A decision expected this week from the highest chamber of the European Court of Human Rights may reignite champion runner Caster Semenya’s prolonged legal battle against sports authorities over sex eligibility rules that have barred her and other women from premier events including the Olympics and world championships. Should a panel of judges uphold a 2023 verdict in Semenya’s favour, it would place renewed scrutiny on track and field’s regulations requiring certain female athletes to lower their natural testosterone levels to compete. It could also pave the way for these rules to be overturned. This would have significant implications across sports and escalate a broader issue, which has been politicised by figures like U.S. President Donald Trump, who argue that the future of women’s competition is at risk. Track’s regulations have become a model for other sports when addressing athletes like two-time Olympic champion Semenya, who pose complex challenges in determining sex eligibility. The core of the case is whether athletes like Semenya, who have specific medical conditions, an atypical male chromosome pattern, and naturally high testosterone levels, should be permitted to compete freely in women’s sports. Track authorities insist the rules are essential for fairness, claiming Semenya has an unfair, male-like athletic advantage due to her elevated testosterone. Semenya counters that her testosterone is a genetic gift. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, consisting of 17 judges who deliberate on the most significant and challenging cases, will deliver a verdict on Thursday after nearly two years of consideration. The judges will determine whether to uphold a previous ruling that found the South African may have been discriminated against and hindered from practising her profession by the regulations. Semenya refused to take medication to lower her natural testosterone level, effectively ending her career due to the regulations. Another victory for Semenya at the human rights court would not immediately result in the rules being abolished but would keep her legal challenge alive. If the Grand Chamber rules against Semenya, it would likely mark the end of her case as its decisions cannot be appealed. A drawn-out legal battle: Semenya’s career has been mired in controversy since she burst onto the international track scene as an unknown teenager in 2009, winning the world title in the 800 meters. She was immediately subjected to sex tests. Semenya is not transgender, although her case is often misunderstood. She was assigned female at birth, raised as a girl, and has always identified as female. However, she has one of several conditions known as differences of sex development, or DSDs, which result in higher-than-average testosterone levels for females. World Athletics’ assertion that Semenya is “biologically male” outraged her. In 2018, World Athletics established rules requiring Semenya and other female athletes with DSDs to lower their testosterone to be eligible for international women’s events. Semenya challenged the rules in court and lost at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland in 2019. She also lost an appeal against that decision at the Swiss supreme court in 2020. Her 2023 appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France was her first major legal victory. The court found that the regulations did — on the surface — violate her rights and raised “serious questions” about the rules that had not been addressed, including the effects of using birth control medication to suppress hormone levels. If the panel of top judges agrees on Thursday, Semenya’s case could return to the Swiss supreme court and potentially back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, although this process could take years. The ripples: The outcome of Semenya’s case could ultimately have repercussions for other high-profile Olympic sports, such as swimming, which also has rules excluding female athletes with naturally high testosterone levels. These rules were introduced in response to the World Athletics regulations. Football is reviewing its eligibility rules for women and may set limits on testosterone. Track has tightened its rules since 2019. Female eligibility is a critical issue for the International Olympic Committee under its new president, Kirsty Coventry. The IOC has allowed individual sports federations to establish their own rules for the Olympics. Coventry, however, has stated the IOC should now lead on the issue, echoing the clear stance of most of her opponents in the March presidential election that she won. A sex eligibility dispute involving female boxers Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan erupted at last year’s Paris Olympics, undermining the competition. In response, boxing has announced it will implement new sex eligibility testing. Semenya’s case might set a legal precedent for all sports because there has never been one like it. Semenya now: Semenya last competed internationally in 2019 and was the world’s dominant runner in her favoured 800-meter event. She had won more than 30 consecutive races before the rules rendered her ineligible. She is now 34 and has transitioned into coaching. Recently, she stated that her ongoing legal fight is no longer about her own running career, which is likely over, but about a principle. “It’s a battle for human rights now,” Semenya told a South African newspaper last month. “It’s not about competing, it’s about putting athletes’ rights first. It’s about the protection of athletes.” With AP Inputs