Caster Semenya will not be competing in this year's Olympic Games following rules which exclude women with naturally higher levels of testosterone from some of its events.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist was barred from the 800m race due to World Athletics' regulations introduced in 2019, per Sky Sports.
The regulations target female athletes who have differences of sex development (DSD), a set of conditions that could mean a higher than usual level of testosterone in women.
The reasoning behind the policy is that, according to World Athletics, women with DSD could have an unfair advantage.
Despite winning gold at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics in the 800m category, the 30-year-old South African was not afforded the opportunity to defend her title.
Semenya is barred from events between 400m and one mile - unless she takes testosterone-reducing drugs such as birth control, hormone-blocking injections, or undergoes surgery, AP News reports.
However, the athletic champion has maintained that she will not take anything to alter her body.
Semenya said of the ban in an interview, per BBC Sport: "The ban doesn’t make sense at all. But hey, that’s none of my business. I’ll leave it up to the right people to handle the situation, I’ll keep fighting for my rights.
"Of course, I hope the rule changes. I’m an 800m runner. There’s no doubt about that. I keep hoping that I can run my preferred number. But right now my focus is on being healthy. To be an inspiration for young athletes. I will continue to fight for my rights."
Namibian athletes Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi have also been forced to withdraw from events at the Olympics due to the regulations over testosterone.
The rule targeting women with DSD has sparked outrage online, with one person tweeting: "As a woman who is not an athlete however I have higher levels of testosterone...should I be questioning whether I am considered a woman or not? I mean seriously who came up with the appropriate level for testosterone levels in women..."
Another argued: "Men who have naturally high levels of testosterone will be admired and lauded for their extraordinary athletic achievements - not banned from competing because 'it’s not fair to the other athletes.'"
A third wrote: "They naturally have outlier levels of testosterone in their blood for women. But they are women, it is insane. It's basically like saying if you are 2.5 standard deviations from the mean in height you can't play basketball in the Olympics."
In February, Semenya announced that she would be challenging the policy at the European Court of Human Rights in her third legal appeal.
Interestingly, while Semenya was barred from the women's 800m race - and all events between 400m and one mile - she would have been eligible for the 5000m race. However, she failed to qualify after falling short of the maximum time and also because she missed the deadline for Olympic entries, CNN reports.
