Caster Semenya calls out IOC chief over Olympic transgender ban

Key Points:

• Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya criticized International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Kirsty Coventry for the recent decision to ban transgender women from competing in women's Olympic events, expressing disappointment in a fellow African woman leader.
• The IOC's new policy, effective from the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, excludes transgender women who have undergone male puberty and restricts female athletes with differences in sex development (DSD), such as Semenya, from competing in certain events.
• Semenya, who has higher natural testosterone levels and has been barred from her preferred 800-meter race since 2019 due to hormone regulations, condemned the decision as lacking genuine consultation and accused the IOC of using science as a facade.
• Despite Semenya's legal challenges against eligibility rules in track and field, including a European Court of Human Rights judgment, the regulations remain in place, and she ended her legal fight last year.
• The IOC clarified that the new policy is not retroactive, does not affect grassroots sports, and aims to protect fairness and safety in female categories, while emphasizing that access to sport is a human right under the Olympic Charter.