Semenya Romps To Title In 2,000m Paris Race

South African sprinter, Caster Semenya, might be at the centre of a legal battle with the body in charge of athletics across the globe but it didn’t stop her from claiming the title of Tuesday’s rarely-run 2,000m race in Montreuil in Paris.

With her ongoing legal battle with the IAAF over its testosterone rules, the double 800m Olympic champion, who was racing for the first time since a controversial new gender ruling came into effect, finished in 5min 38.19sec ahead of Ethiopian pair Hawi Feysa and Adanech Anbesa.

Since May 8, new IAAF rules require women with higher than normal male hormone levels to artificially lower the amount of testosterone in their bodies if they are to compete in races over distances of 400m to the mile.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport last month rejected Semenya’s challenge against the new regulations but her decision to appeal led the Swiss federal supreme court into temporarily suspending the IAAF rules last week until a further hearing can take place.