Athletics
SEMENYA RELEASES EXPERT WITNESS LIST AFTER ACCUSING IAAF OF UNDERHAND TACTICS
BY JAMES DIAMOND
Two-time Olympic 800 metres champion Caster Semenya has released a list of seven expert witness who will testify for her at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as the South African challenges a prospective ruling from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which could see her banned from competing against women.
The
28-year-old, who is also a three-time world champion, launched a legal case
after the IAAF announced a new rule which, if upheld by CAS, would force her to
take medication to reduce her testosterone levels or compete against men.
The IAAF has long argued that female athletes like Semenya, who have unusually high levels of testosterone caused by differences of sexual development (DSD) have an unfair advantage over women with normal testosterone levels.
They
have received widespread criticism for their stance and a case on the issue
began at the CAS in Lausanne yesterday.
As proceedings began the IAAF released the names of expert witnesses it plans to call at the case, which sparked uproar among Semenya’s legal team, who claimed the disclosure breached the court’s confidentiality rules.
“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,” they said.
The experts the IAAF named included Angelica Linden Hirschberg, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology in Stockholm, David Handelsman, a professor of reproductive endocrinology and andrology in Sydney and Doriane Lambelet Coleman, who is a professor of law at Duke Law School in the United States and is also a former two-time Swiss national champion over 800m.
In response Semenya’s lawyers said the CAS had granted permission for her to release a list of her own “as a matter of fairness” and she has now done so.
It lists seven individuals including another professor of obstetrics and gynecology Veronica Gomez-Lobo, who works at Georgetown University in the United States.
Also named is the director of the Sports Genomics Laboratory at Manchester Metropolitan University Alun Williams, who Semenya’s team say has published “numerous academic papers on the topic” and Roger Pielke Jr, the director of the Sports Governance Centre at the University of Colorado.
“She is grateful to the CAS for opportunity to present her case and for granting her permission to disclose her list of experts publicly in response to the IAAF,” Semenya’s lawyers said yesterday.
“Going forward, the CAS has reiterated that the arbitration proceedings are confidential and information about the case should not be disclosed publicly.”
The other names on Semenya’s list are Eric Vilain, a geneticist specialising in gender based and endocrine genetics including DSD, Dankmar Bohning, Richard Holt and Anthony C Hackney.
Bohning is a professor of medical statistics at the University of Southampton, Holt is a professor of diabetes and endocrinology, also at the University of Southampton and Hackney is a professor at the University of North Carolina in the US, who holds a PhD in exercise physiology.
The case is due to be heard by the CAS for at least five days, with a verdict expected in March.
Since Semenya announced her legal challenge last year various bodies have announced their public support, including three human rights experts at the United Nations who called the IAAF’s stance “unjustifiable”, the group Human Rights Watch, the Women’s Sport Foundation and the South African Government.
The IAAF however has remained insistent that the rule is necessary in the interest of fairness.
“The core value for the IAAF is the empowerment of girls and women through athletics,” IAAF President Sebastian Coe said, as he arrived at the CAS in Lausanne.
“The regulations that we are introducing are there to protect the sanctity of fair and open competition.”
If the rule is upheld it will come into force on March 26 and will see Semenya unable to compete for much of the 2019 outdoor season.
This is because the rule dictates athletes with her condition must take medication to reduce their testosterone levels for at least six months before competing.
– INSIDE THE GAMES
BY DANLADI BAKO
Sports and indeed global athletics have been the cynosure of quite a huge community of track and field afficionados in the last nine days at the Tokyo World Athletics finals.
The global athletics fraternity congregates annually to celebrate new world beaters and champions.
Athletes spend a large amount of time, energy and resources to train, attracting the best coaches and utilizing some of the high impact facilities in developing qualifying times for their individual events.
So many nations facilitate the upscaling and upgrading of their athletes’ mentality, physique and performance standing through investments in the training and welfare of their high-profile athletes by providing grants, scholarships and appreciable reward systems.
These have been in short supply in Nigeria and indeed within the developing world where the priorities of most governments are education, health, poverty and so many other development challenges.
However, the benefits of investing in sports are unquantifiable especially on the world global diplomatic stage, unassailable visibility and an incredible reputation unachievable in so many other areas of human existence. In the eighties and 90s the Americans literally ruled the sprints with female 100 meters legend Florence Griffiths – Joyner and 400 meters world champion Michael Johnson.
Just like America used the movies to show Americans as the world best, sportsmen like basketball’s Michael Jordan and boxing’s Muhammad Ali put America on the pinnacle of human capacity for endurance, determination, strategic planning and near perfect execution.
America might have the size and population above 200 million so it’s success can be expected, however Jamaica an island of 150 miles by 50 miles has gone beyond exporting Reggae’s global icons like Bob Marley and Alton Ellis to producing 100 meters legends Usain Bolt, Sherry Ann Fraser-Price and Marlene Ottey thereby winning international recognition and inevitable public reckoning far beyond most African countries.
Now a land locked southern African sub-continent country Botswana with less than the population of Lagos State just on Sunday won the 4 x 400 men’s relay gold at the Tokyo 2025 games even after picking a few other medals through individual athletes Tebogo et al.
The Tokyo games have come and gone with Tobi Amusan putting Nigeria on the medals table with her 100 meters Silver medal. Ajayi’s efforts in the 100 meters men’s final was also commendable.
For me the highest point was the super- human diminutive Kenyan Faith Kipyegon in the 1500 metres clinching gold and 5000 metres silver.
Another great spectacle was the exploits of American idol Noah Lyle who anchored the last leg of the 4 x100 metres gold winning quartet.
Lyle won the 200 metres gold as well becoming one of the audaciuos and eye-catching supreme athletes of Tokyo 2025. Mention must be made of Sweden’s Armand Mondo who broke the pole vault world record thrice in two days.
So when and how would Nigeria get to these towering heights of conquering the world?
The fact is that we once had Olympic and World Athletics finalists like Innocent Egbunike (400m) , Chidi Imo (100 and 200m), Yusuf Alli (Long jump) and Falilat Ogunkoya (400m) although it was the American University collegiate structure that groomed them to become world beaters with little or no input from the home government.
Once in a long while a training grant of $50,000 gets handed to them in preparation for Olympic games to pay their coaches and for utilizing training facilities abroad. Even Ezekiel Nathaniel and Oyinkansola Ajayi are still beneficiaries of the American University collegiate structure.
The aforementioned names who also schooled and trained in the United States are still very much around especially Yusuf Alli, Falilat and Mary Onyali.
The authorities need to device the appropriate strategies to achieve podium standings in the nearest immediate future.
All the products of the National Youth Games and the School Sports Federation games should be drafted into a growth enhancement program, hire some of the best Athletics coaches from around the world and ensure the construction and maintenance of high-performance pitches and gymnasia.
The Sports Federations must be populated with patriotic and passionate sports men who are brimming with enthusiasm, desire and creativity.
President Tinubu did not only resuscitate the National Sports Commission, he gave an unprecedented 12 billion naira to the Sports Ministry for AFCON and other tournaments earlier this year so we have a listening President who can restore our lost glory in sports and athletics in particular. Nigeria must reclaim its podium standing capability as soon as possible.
Danladi Bako, OON was Senior Special Assistant to former Minister of Youth and Sports as well as one-time Chairman Sokoto State Football Association.
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By KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria’s silver medal finish at the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships once again highlighted the country’s roller-coaster fortunes on the global stage.
While the podium placement ensured Nigeria did not return empty-handed, the overall medal count has remained stagnant in recent years compared to other rising athletics nations.
At the Doha 2019 Championships, Team Nigeria endured a barren outing, failing to register a single medal. Three years later in Oregon 2022, Ese Brume broke the drought with a stunning gold in the women’s long jump — Nigeria’s first-ever world title in the event.
The momentum continued into Budapest 2023, where world record holder Tobi Amusan claimed silver in the women’s 100m hurdles, cementing Nigeria’s presence among the elite hurdlers. In Tokyo this year, the nation repeated the feat in the same event, albeit again settling for silver.
A comparative glance at the last four editions shows a troubling trend: Nigeria has not improved its medal tally, with just one medal each in 2022, 2023, and 2025.
This raises urgent questions about depth, consistency, and investment in talent development beyond the few star performers.
Comparative Medal Table (2019–2025)
- Doha 2019 – 0 medals (No standout performance)
- Oregon 2022 – 1 Gold (Ese Brume, Women’s Long Jump)
- Budapest 2023 – 1 Silver (Tobi Amusan, 100m Hurdles)
- Tokyo 2025 – 1 Silver (100m Hurdles)
The pattern underscores Nigeria’s reliance on individual brilliance rather than systemic excellence. Athletics analysts argue that unless the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) strengthens grassroots programs, invests in coaching and sports science, and improves athlete welfare, the country risks stagnating while competitors from Africa and beyond surge ahead.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Nigeria wrapped up its campaign at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo with a single silver medal, finishing joint 25th on the overall medals table with eight others on the medals tables as the curtain was drawing on the championship.
The position may even deepen at the end of the day.
Star hurdler Tobi Amusan delivered the country’s only podium finish, placing second in the women’s 100m hurdles.
Despite the modest medal haul, several Nigerian athletes impressed with near-misses and record-breaking efforts.
Ezekiel Nathaniel narrowly missed out on a medal in the men’s 400m hurdles, finishing fourthin a national record time. Kanyinsola Ajayi also reached the men’s 100m final, settling for sixth, while shot put specialist Chukwuebuka Enekwechi placed fifthin his event.
Nigeria fielded 15 athletes – eight men and seven women – in Tokyo. While the performances reflected resilience, the lack of medals beyond Amusan’s silver highlighted gaps in preparation and depth.
Analysts point to the absence of Nigeria’s traditionally strong relay teams, logistical challenges, and inadequate athlete support as major setbacks.
Sports observers insist that the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) must chart a new path if the country is to climb the global athletics ladder.
Key recommendations include better logistics and athlete welfare, renewed focus on relay programmes, grassroots talent identification, and consistent funding.
Despite the below-par medal count, the performances in Tokyo suggest Nigeria still possesses world-class potential. With reforms and stronger administration, the AFN has an opportunity to turn near-misses into podium finishes at future championships.
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