Indian sprinter Dutee Chand (19) has been cleared to race after the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) ruling on gender testing guidelines, on Monday.
The Lausanne-based court suspended the governing International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) regulations regarding hyperandrogenism – a condition which produces high testosterone levels – for two years.
She will be allowed to compete again in both domestic and international events after she was forced to sit out for about a year.
“When I heard that CAS had allowed me to participate again in international meets, I felt like I got my life back,” Chand, the under-18 national champion over 100 metres, told the Indian Express newspaper.
Over the past year I was facing an uncertain future. Running is all I know and it is what I love the most. Till the verdict was pronounced I did not know what the future held in store. This is the happiest day of my life.
— Dutee Chand, National Athlete, India
Why Was Chand Refused the Right to Compete?
Chand was dropped from India’s contingent for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in Incheon after her naturally-occurring testosterone levels were found in breach of the IAAF’s guidelines.
She was advised to have surgery and get medication but instead decided to challenge the guidelines at CAS. The latter subsequently asked the IAAF to present scientific evidence that proved enhanced testosterone levels improved performance in hyperandrogenic athletes, within two years.
In the absence of such evidence, the CAS Panel was unable to conclude that hyperandrogenic female athletes may benefit from such a significant performance advantage that it is necessary to exclude them from competing in the female category.
— Court of Arbitration for Sport’s Statement
Chand said her training had been severely hampered due to the situation but she was now targeting qualifying for next year’s Rio Olympics.
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