By Nasiphi Mabusela – Icamagu Reporter
10 July 2025
In a landmark decision on Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that South African Olympic champion Caster Semenya did not receive a fair trial from the Swiss legal system in her prolonged battle over regulations requiring her to reduce her natural testosterone levels to compete in women’s athletics.
The ECHR’s Grand Chamber found that Switzerland’s Federal Court, which previously upheld a 2019 decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against Semenya, failed to provide the rigorous legal scrutiny necessary for a case affecting such fundamental personal rights.
Semenya, a two-time Olympic gold medallist in the women’s 800 metres, has been barred from competing in her preferred event since 2018. This followed a controversial World Athletics rule mandating that athletes with “differences in sexual development” take medication to suppress naturally elevated testosterone levels.
Refusing to alter her biology, Semenya took her fight through multiple legal channels, including the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss Federal Court—both of which ruled against her. In 2023, the ECHR initially found she had been the victim of discrimination. However, that decision was mostly symbolic, as it did not overturn the athletics regulations nor reinstate her eligibility to compete.
Thursday’s ruling, following an appeal by Swiss authorities and World Athletics, upheld the 2023 findings and went further by confirming that Semenya was denied the safeguards of a fair trial as outlined in the European Convention on Human Rights. The court ordered Switzerland to pay her €80,000 in legal expenses.
While the decision does not directly challenge World Athletics’ rules, it is a significant moral and legal victory for Semenya, whose case has become a global touchpoint in the debate over gender, biology, and fairness in sport.
Semenya has not yet responded publicly to the judgment, but human rights and gender equity advocates have welcomed the ruling as a crucial step toward justice.
