After fighting different marathon regulation battles with International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Olympic champion and intersex athlete, Caster Semenya has once again been barred from running the 800 metres in Morocco. The South African champion was denied entry into the competition, despite having gotten approval from Switzerland’s highest court after they rejected an IAAF request for eligibility regulations to be reimposed on her. IAAF regulations before now ruled that XY chromosome athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) like Semenya, can only race in distances from 400m to 1500m if they take medication to reduce their naturally-occurring testosterone levels.
The Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT) however, temporarily lifted the regulations affecting Semenya until June 25. SFT is said to also be able to extend that further after hearing submissions from the IAAF and Athletics South Africa over an appeal against a May 1 Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) award upholding the rules. Semenya who wanted to contest in the 800m in Rabat revealed on Thursday, June 13th that the president of the Moroccan Athletics Federation had denied her entry into the IAAF Diamond League meet in Morocco on Sunday. After she was blocked to run in Rabat where she won at the meet in 2018, a statement from Semenya’s legal team read: “Caster expresses grave frustration that she has been prevented from competing in the 800m in Rabat, in an apparent violation of the Swiss Supreme Court’s order. 
She was notified on June 11 that the president of the Moroccan Athletics Federation has denied her participation. Caster is currently seeking clarity on the specific reasons for that decision, and she urges the IAAF to ensure its member federations comply with the law and the Supreme Court’s orders of May 31 and June 12.” While discussing with BBC, Semenya said:Â “No woman should be subjected to these rules. I thought hard about not running the 800m in solidarity unless all women can run free. But I will run now to show the IAAF that they cannot drug us.”
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