Caster Semenya accuses IAAF of breaching confidentiality

18 February 2019 - 14:27
By David Isaacson
World 800m champion Caster Semenya has accused IAAF of breaching a confidentiality clause.
Image: Adrian DENNIS / AFP World 800m champion Caster Semenya has accused IAAF of breaching a confidentiality clause.

Caster Semenya has accused the IAAF of breaching the confidentiality around the hearing of her case against the world governing body at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

Her lawyers were responding to a press release issued earlier on Monday by the IAAF in which they named their five expert witnesses in the matter to decide if athletes with hyperandrogenism gain an unfair advantage of other women because of their higher levels of naturally occurring testosterone.

The case started on Monday and is expected to run most of the week.

“The arbitration proceedings are subject to strict confidentiality provisions and this information should not have been released‚” Semenya’s lawyers said in a statement.

“Ms Semenya believes the IAAF press release is a clear breach of the confidentiality provisions that was orchestrated in an effort to influence public opinion in circumstances where the IAAF knew that Ms Semenya would not be prepared to respond because she was complying with her confidentiality obligations.

“As a matter of fairness Ms Semenya raised this issue with the CAS and has been granted permission to publicly release information responding to the IAAF press release‚ including disclosing the experts who are testifying in support of Ms Semenya’s case.

“This information will be released tomorrow‚” he lawyers said.