Problems for the IAAF
The case was brought against IAAF by Indian sprinter Dutee Chand who won the Indian Championships in 2013 with an 11.73 s in the final in 100 metres and a career-best 23.73 s in 200 metres.
Although selected for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, she was withdrawn due to concerns over her ability to compete as a female. This was undertaken on a similar basis to that used to suspend Caster Semenya following her gender testing in 2009 when she won the Gold Medal at the World Championships in Berlin.
The IAAF now has 2 years to produce scientific evidence that quantifies the relationship between enhanced testosterone levels and performance in hyperandrogenic athletes. Failure to provide evidence within two years will mean the IAAF rule will be declared void.
A ruling may well have some interesting outcomes if the submitted evidence fails to show substantial or in conclusive links between the condition and performance. It is not clear if such a finding could result the IAAF facing claims from athletes who had previously been affected by the ruling.
As a result of today’s outcome, Chand, is now allowed to compete in all national and international competitions and if still in training, this will presumabley see her in the Indian team to the World Championships in Beijing in August.
In a statement issued later in the day the IAAF was happy to note that the CAS Panel specifically found that the IAAF and its experts have 'acted with conspicuous diligence and good faith', seeking 'to create a system of rules that are fair, objective and founded on the best available science', and that those rules 'have been administered in confidence and with care and compassion' (including ensuring that athletes affected have received the medical treatment required to ensure their wellbeing).
The CAS Panel said this was 'a testament to the seriousness with which the IAAF takes its responsibilities as the global regulator of the sport'.
The panel also noted that there is a sound scientific basis to the Regulations, in that endogenous testosterone is 'the best indicator of performance differences between male and female athletes', However, the CAS Panel felt that more evidence is required as to the precise degree of performance advantage that hyperandrogenic female athletes enjoy over athletes with normal testosterone levels.
( File Photo - Gallo Images)