Caster Semenya
FILE - Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks to her coach after winning the 500 meter freestyle during a meet with Harvard on Jan. 22, 2022, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Bans on transgender women in international swimming and rugby this week opened the door for track and field to consider following suit in what could turn into a wave of policy changes in Olympic sports. The announcement Sunday, June 19, 2022, by swimming's governing body, FINA, was followed quickly by a show of support from World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, who was in Hungary for the swimming world championships. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, File)
Swimming's new transgender policy could impact other sports

By Eddie Pells Jun. 22, 2022 04:57 PM EDT

FILE - Christian Coleman, of the United States, finishes a men's 60 meters heat at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 19, 2022. American sprinter Christian Coleman is steadily getting up to speed after an 18-month ban that kept him out of the Tokyo Games last summer. This weekend at the Prefontaine Classic will be the first step in what could be a long and fruitful run in Eugene, Oregon, for the 100-meter world champion. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)
World 100 champion Coleman back up to speed after suspension

By Pat Graham May. 27, 2022 02:00 PM EDT

FILE - South African long distance athlete Caster Semenya (176) runs on her way to winning the 5,000 meters at the South African national championships in Pretoria, South Africa, April 15, 2021. A British newspaper has reported that double Olympic champion Semenya said she offered to show her body to track officials when she was just 18 years old to prove she was a female. (AP Photo/Christiaan Kotze/File)
Semenya says she offered to show track officials her body

By Gerald Imray May. 23, 2022 07:45 PM EDT

FILE - Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, listens to a reporter's question during a press conference as Coe visited an athletics test event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games at National Stadium in Tokyo, Sunday, May 9, 2021. With track and field adding another Diamond League event in China, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe addressed the human rights issues in the country during his state-of-the-sport talk Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)
Coe discusses adding meet in China in state-of-track talk

By Pat Graham Dec. 21, 2021 03:40 PM EST

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Aug. 05, 2021 11:32 AM EDT
Aug. 6 1958 — Glen Davis of Columbus, Ohio, sets a world record in the 400 hurdles with a time of 49.2 in Budapest, Hungary. ...

Elaine Thompson-Herah, of Jamaica celebrates after winning the gold medal in the final of the women's 200-meter at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
You again! Thompson-Herah speeds to 2nd Olympic sprint sweep

By Eddie Pells Aug. 03, 2021 11:30 AM EDT

Elaine Thompson-Herah, left, of Jamaica, wins the final of the women's 200-meters from Christine Mboma, of Namibia, at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
EXPLAINER: What exactly are track's testosterone rules?

By Gerald Imray Aug. 03, 2021 12:27 AM EDT

Christine Mboma, of Namibia, left, leads Gabrielle Thomas, of United States in a women's 200-meter first round heat at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Teenagers make 200 final in Olympic testosterone controversy

By Gerald Imray Aug. 02, 2021 09:12 AM EDT

Francine Niyonsaba, of Burundi, finishes a heat in the women's 5,000-meter run at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 30, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
'So alone': Niyonsaba criticizes own team after Olympics DQ

By Gerald Imray Jul. 31, 2021 01:42 AM EDT

Caster Semenya reacts before the women's 5000 meter race in Regensburg, Saturday, June 19, 2021. The two-time 800-meter Olympic champion from South Africa once again missed out on qualifying for the Summer Games in Tokyo during her surprising start in Regensburg. (Stefan Puchner/dpa via AP)
Semenya misses Tokyo, may be forced out of Olympics for good

By Gerald Imray Jul. 03, 2021 02:48 AM EDT

No Bolt means stage open for new stars to emerge in Tokyo

Jul. 02, 2021 12:16 PM EDT
HIGHLIGHTS FROM RIO: Usain Bolt. The 34-year-old Bolt, retired since 2017, will watch the Tokyo Games from the comfort of his home in Jamaica as someone other...

Namibia teenagers barred from Olympic 400 over testosterone

By Gerald Imray Jul. 02, 2021 08:11 AM EDT
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Two 18-year-old runners from Namibia were barred Friday from running in the 400 meters at the Olympics because of high natural...

Caster Semenya reacts before the women's 5000 meter race in Regensburg, Saturday, June 19, 2021. The two-time 800-meter Olympic champion from South Africa once again missed out on qualifying for the Summer Games in Tokyo during her surprising start in Regensburg. (Stefan Puchner/dpa via AP)
Semenya fails to reach Olympic qualifying time for 5,000

Jun. 30, 2021 06:04 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 2, 1960 file photo, Tamara Press of Russia heaves the shot during the Women's shot put qualifying round at the Summer Olympic Games in Rome, Italy. Three-time Olympic champion Tamara Press has died at the age of 83. The Russian track federation says Press died in the hospital on April 26, 2021 without giving a cause of death. Press competed for the Soviet Union and won gold in the shot put and silver in the discus at the 1960 Rome Olympics. She won gold in both events four years later at the 1964 Tokyo Games. (AP Photo, file)
Olympic track and field champion Tamara Press dies at 83

May. 06, 2021 12:28 PM EDT

South African long distance athlete Caster Semenya on her way to winning the 5,000 meters at the South African national championships in Pretoria, South Africa, Thursday, April 15, 2021. Semenya said she's likely to focus on long-distance events for the rest of her career. (AP Photo/Christiaan Kotze)
'Distance makes sense:' Semenya pins Olympic hopes on 5,000

Apr. 15, 2021 05:40 AM EDT

FILE - In this Sunday, June 30, 2019 file photo, South Africa's Caster Semenya smiles after winning the women's 800-meter race during the Prefontaine Classic, an IAAF Diamond League athletics meeting, in Stanford, Calif. USA. Caster Semenya's lawyer said Tuesday Nov. 17, 2020, they will take her case against the world track and field federation to the European Court of Human Rights in what's likely to be a last-ditch legal challenge against regulations that require the South African and some other female athletes to artificially lower their natural testosterone levels to compete. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Semenya taking case to European Court of Human Rights

By Gerald Imray Feb. 25, 2021 07:15 AM EST

FILE - In this Sunday, June 30, 2019 file photo, South Africa's Caster Semenya smiles after winning the women's 800-meter race during the Prefontaine Classic, an IAAF Diamond League athletics meeting, in Stanford, Calif. USA. Caster Semenya's lawyer said Tuesday Nov. 17, 2020, they will take her case against the world track and field federation to the European Court of Human Rights in what's likely to be a last-ditch legal challenge against regulations that require the South African and some other female athletes to artificially lower their natural testosterone levels to compete. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Lawyer: Semenya to go to European Court of Human Rights

By Gerald Imray Nov. 17, 2020 01:25 PM EST

FILE - In this Sunday, June 30, 2019 file photo, South Africa's Caster Semenya competes in the women's 800-meter race during the Prefontaine Classic, an IAAF Diamond League athletics meeting, in Stanford, Calif. USA. Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya finally lost her long legal battle at Switzerland’s supreme court Tuesday Sept. 8, 2020, against track and field’s rules that limit female runners’ naturally high testosterone levels. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, file)
Semenya loses at Swiss supreme court over testosterone rules

By Graham Dunbar And Gerald Imray Sep. 08, 2020 02:49 PM EDT

AP-Sportlight-Week Ahead

By The Associated Press Jul. 30, 2020 11:51 AM EDT
Aug. 6 1926 — Nineteen-year-old Gertrude Ederle of New York City becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel as she crosses the...

AP Sportlight

By The Associated Press Jul. 09, 2020 12:42 PM EDT
July 15 1912 — Jim Thorpe wins the decathlon at the Stockholm Olympics. At the closing ceremony, Sweden’s King Gustav proclaims Thorpe the...