STRASBOURG, France — Two-time Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya won a partial victory at the European Court of Human Rights on Thursday in her seven-year legal fight against track and field\u2019s sex eligibility rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court\u2019s 17-judge highest chamber said in a 15-2 vote that Semenya had some of her rights to a fair hearing violated at Switzerland\u2019s Supreme Court, where she had appealed against a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in favor of track and field\u2019s World Athletics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her case should now go back to the Swiss federal court in Lausanne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Europe’s top human rights court in Strasbourg, France, dismissed other aspects of the appeal filed by Semenya, who was in court to hear the judgment read. It awarded her 80,000 euros ($94,000) \u201cin respect of costs and expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The European court\u2019s ruling does not overturn the World Athletics rules that effectively ended Semenya\u2019s career running the 800 meters after she won two Olympic and three world titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The key legal point in Semenya’s win was the Swiss Federal Court had not carried out a \u201crigorous judicial review\u201d that was required because Semenya had no choice but to pursue her case through the CAS’s \u201cmandatory and exclusive jurisdiction.\u201d the Strasbourg judges ruled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Governing bodies of Olympic sports oblige athletes and national federations to take their disputes to the sports court in the IOC’s home city Lausanne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe court considered, however, that the Federal Supreme Court\u2019s review had fallen short of that requirement,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In dismissing other elements of the South African runner\u2019s case, the court judged she \u201cdid not fall within Switzerland\u2019s jurisdiction in respect of those complaints.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The original case between Semenya and track\u2019s governing body was about whether athletes like her \u2014 who have specific medical conditions, a typical male chromosome pattern and naturally high testosterone levels \u2014 should be allowed to compete freely in women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World Athletics, led by its president Sebastian Coe, has said its rules maintain fairness because Semenya has an unfair, male-like athletic advantage from her higher testosterone. Semenya argues her testosterone is a genetic gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thursday’s followed a legal victory from the same court two years ago for Semenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That judgment which said she had faced discrimination opened a way for the Swiss supreme court to reconsider its decision to dismiss her appeal against the CAS verdict in favor of World Athletics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At CAS in 2019, three judges ruled 2-1 that discrimination against Semenya was \u201cnecessary, reasonable and proportionate\u201d to maintain fairness in women\u2019s track events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n