The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has hit back at the World Medical Association (WMA) after the organisation called on its members not to administer drugs, which lower the level of testosterone in female athletes with differences in sexual development (DSD).
In a letter sent to the WMA, the IAAF said it “strongly disagrees” with the group’s concerns about the validity of the regulations, which came into effect yesterday following last week’s Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling in its case against Caster Semenya.
The rules meant Semenya, a two-time Olympic and triple world champion over 800 metres, and other affected athletes will have to take medication to reduce their testosterone if they want to continue running on the world stage at events between 400m and a mile.
DSD athletes with naturally high levels of testosterone, who wish to participate in events between the two distances must medically limit that level to under 5 nmol/L, double the normal female range of below 2 nmol/L.
In its verdict, which followed months of deliberation in a highly contentious case, the CAS admitted the rules were “discriminatory,” but also said the policy was “necessary, reasonable and proportionate” to protect the fairness of women’s sport.
The WMA called for the “immediate withdrawal” of the regulations after claiming they were based on “weak evidence from a single study, which is being widely debated by the scientific community”.