Semenya battles IAAF over gender in sports

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The longtime standoff between Olympic champion Caster Semenya and track and field's governing body over issues of gender, hormones and performance in sports reached a pivotal phase on Monday as a key tribunal began hosting a planned five-day hearing in a case that could have massive repercussions throughout sports.

Insisting on the need for fairness, the IAAF defended "eligibility standards that ensure that athletes who identify as female but have testes, and testosterone levels in the male range, at least drop their testosterone levels into the female range in order to compete at the elite level in the female classification.