The 30-year-old Semenya’s hopes of making it back to the Olympics are dwindling.
Forced out of her favourite race by World Athletics’s testosterone rules, the two-time olympic champion in the 800 meters took a late shot at qualifying for a Tokyo in the 5,000 meters, an event not affected by the hormone regulations. She came up short. Semenya is the athlete that has perhaps stoked the most controversy in track and field over the last decade.
In 2018, the rules demanded that Semenya lower her testosterone levels artificially-by either taking birth control pills daily or having hormone-blocking injections but she simply refused to do so. Semenya continues to fight the testosterone regulations in court.
She has launched three legal appeals against the rules, calling them unfair and discriminatory and appears determined to wage her legal fight to the very end.
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