Caster Semenya, double Olympic champion, has launched a fierce rebuttal against the International Olympic Committee’s new policy banning transgender women and athletes with differences in sex development from women’s competitions.
"If women must stop competing, so be it," Semenya said. "This does not save women’s sport-it destroys its integrity."
The IOC, under President Kirsty Coventry, justifies the policy citing physiological advantages from male puberty, including higher testosterone and muscle mass, which they claim create unfair competition and safety risks-especially in explosive sports like boxing.
Semenya dismissed the science as ideological, not evidence-based. "There’s no published research. It’s an assumption dressed as policy."
The policy mandates mandatory sex testing for all female entrants, including girls as young as 15. Semenya called it "harmful and shameful," condemning the intrusion into athletes’ bodies and identities.
"You cannot measure power based on how someone looks," she said. "We all accept risk in sport. But dignity is non-negotiable."
The South African, who has fought for over a decade against forced hormone suppression, now coaches but remains the face of resistance. She plans to mobilize athletes for a class-action legal challenge ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
"I’m fighting for women’s dignity," Semenya added. "Not to exclude, but to protect the meaning of fair play."
