Doug Mills/The New York Times
The highest court in international sports issued a landmark but nuanced ruling on Wednesday that will force female track athletes with elevated levels of testosterone to take suppressants to compete in certain races against other women.
The ruling is a defeat for Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic champion at 800 meters from South Africa, who had appealed the regulations and has fought to compete in women’s events despite her naturally elevated levels of the muscle-building hormone testosterone.
The court addressed a complicated, highly-charged question involving fair play, gender identity, biology and human rights that the world of track and field has been grappling with for a decade: Since competition is divided into male and female categories, what is the most equitable way to decide who should be eligible to compete in women’s events?