'I am a woman and I am a world-class athlete. The IAAF will not drug me or stop me from being who I am.'
Olympic 800 metres champion Caster Semenya has filed an appeal to Switzerland's highest court against a ruling to uphold rules requiring that middle-distance female athletes with a high natural level of testosterone must take medication to reduce it.
"I am a woman and I am a world-class athlete. The IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) will not drug me or stop me from being who I am," Semenya, 28, said in a statement after filing the appeal on Wednesday.
South African Semenya lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on May 1 which ruled the IAAF's regulations were necessary for athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) to ensure fair competition.
The statement added that Semenya will ask the Swiss Federal Supreme Court to set aside CAS's decision in its entirety, which it said did not consider medical protocols and uncertain health consequences of taking testosterone-reducing medication.
