Olympic champion Caster Semenya will not run her specialist 800m distance at Rabat on Sunday despite having received an invitation to do so, in the latest twist of her bitter court battle over gender rules.
“She received an invitation but is unable to organise her schedule to come to Rabat,” organiser Alain Blondel told AFP.
Semenya was cleared to take part in the Diamond League meeting after Switzerland’s top court rejected an IAAF request to re-impose rules obliging her to lower her testosterone levels before competing in certain events.
Organisers refused her entry on Tuesday, but after the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland rejected an urgent request by the IAAF to have its controversial new ruling reinstated, pending the outcome of Semenya’s appeal hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.
The federation wants to introduce rules that will prevent female athletes with high testosterone levels from competing internationally in events between 400 metres and a mile. – Additional Reporting SABC
