A former competitor says athletics risks losing an icon in the wake of a controversial ruling.
Double Olympic 800-metre champion Caster Semenya has had her appeal dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
She was aiming to halt the introduction of regulations to limit testosterone in female athletes with differences in sexual development.
The court ruled the regulations are needed to ensure fair competition between athletes competing in events ranging from the 400-metres to the mile.
Semenya and other affected athletes hoping to compete at the world championships in September will have to start taking medication to lower their testosterone levels.
Madeleine Pape is an Australian former Olympic athlete who competed in the 800m at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
She also competed against Semenya at the 2009 World Athletic Championships in Berlin and was upset at the time to lose to her.
However, she told Kerre McIvor that Semenya has done a lot for the sport.
"She's a really colourful character with a great personal story who is an amazing competitor, and I think we're really going to lose a great icon and role model for the sport if she decides not to compete anymore.”
Pape also has a background in sociology says science doesn't back the decision either.
"For men, they are not policed, but for them, testosterone is not even the most disastrous factor on athletic ability."
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