Expert lawyers on both sides for Caster's run-in

Caster Semenya. EPA-EFE

Caster Semenya. EPA-EFE

Published Feb 20, 2019

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CASTER Semenya’s lawyers will call on a list of 10 expert witness in their appeal against the IAAF’s controversial female eligibility rules at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland, this week.

The release of her experts was against protocol but the CAS granted Semenya permission to make it public after the IAAF disclosed the names of their witnesses the day before.

Semenya’s law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, said yesterday that the two-time Olympic champion believed athletes affected by the regulations should be permitted to compete in the female category without discrimination.

“The IAAF’s regulations do not empower anyone. Rather, they represent yet another flawed and hurtful attempt to police the sex of female athletes,” Norton Rose Fulbright said.

“Semenya’s courage and perseverance in her fight to run free is an inspiration to young athletes in her home country of South Africa and around the globe.”

Norton Rose Fulbright said so-called athletes with Differences in Sexual Development (DSD) should be “celebrated for their natural talents as are all other athletes with genetic variations”.

The IAAF’s challenged regulations will require women with naturally elevated levels of testosterone to lower it to below five nanomoles for at least six months.

This will only affect athletes that compete in the distances between 400m and the mile which are the events Semenya excels in. Her lawyers have assembled a list of independent witnesses covering a diverse range of expertise that will provide evidence in support of her case.

The team includes a paediatric and adolescent gynaecologist with specialised experience in DSD, a specialist in genetic differences that impact athletic performance, a psychologist and a statistician.

Among the witnesses is Professor Eric Vilain, a geneticist specialised in gender-based and endocrine genetics, including DSD.

According to Norton Rose Fulbright, Vilain has spent almost a decade analysing whether female athletes with DSD should be subject to regulation, including in consultation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and as part of working groups, including IAAF representatives.

Semenya’s legal team on Monday hit out against the IAAF for releasing their list of expert witnesses. “The arbitration proceedings are subject to strict confidentiality provisions and this information should not have been released,” Norton Rose Fulbright said.

“Ms Semenya believes the IAAF press release is a clear breach of the confidentiality provisions that was orchestrated in an effort to influence public opinion in circumstances where the IAAF knew that Ms Semenya would not be prepared to respond because she was complying with her confidentiality obligations.”

The CAS subsequently granted Semenya’s legal team permission to publicly release information responding to the IAAF release as a matter of fairness.

Meanwhile, Athletics SA (ASA) announced their list of experts in their challenge against the regulations “on behalf of all affected female athletes worldwide”.

The list consists of local legal and medical experts, including South African sports scientist Ross Tucker, Dr Jeroen Swart and other local medical experts.

Former Caster Semenya rival Madeleine Pape of Australia is also among ASA’s experts in Lausanne.

The former middle-distance athlete raced against Semenya in the heats at the 2009 Berlin World Championships where the South African won the global title amid the gender verification storm.

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