Francine Niyonsaba, who changed events due to testosterone rule, runs Olympic qualifier

Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba, the 2016 Olympic 800m silver medalist who cannot race that distance anymore unless she takes testosterone-suppressing measures, ran an Olympic qualifying time in a different event, the 5000m, on Tuesday.

Niyonsaba clocked 14:54.38 at a meet in Montreuil, France, easily clearing the Olympic standard of 15:10.

No other woman from Burundi has ever run 15:10, according to World Athletics. A nation can qualify no more than three athletes to the Games in track and field events.

All three of the Rio Olympic 800m medalists — Caster Semenya, Niyonsaba and Margaret Wambui — said they are impacted by a rule instituted in 2019 that caps testosterone levels in women’s events…