South African athlete Caster Semenya missed out again to qualify for the women’s 5,000m at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 30-year-old, who is barred from defending her Olympic 800m title, finished fourth in an event held in Regensburg, Germany race in a time of 15 minutes 57.12 seconds, which was 47 seconds outside the 15:10 qualification time.
The double Olympic 800m champion previously clocked times of 15:52.28 in Pretoria at an altitude of 1,339 metres (4,393 feet) and 15:32.15 at sea level in Durban.
She is not allowed to compete in events between 400m and one mile without taking testosterone-reducing drugs following a rule introduced by World Athletics in 2019.
Reacting to the ban, Semenya initially favoured seeking qualification for the 200m, but became concerned about potential injuries and switched to 5,000m.
Semenya refuses to take testosterone-reducing drugs, arguing that it could endanger her health and that the ruling denies her and other athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD) the right to rely on their natural abilities.
She recently took her case to the European Court of Human Rights, but it is unlikely to be heard before the Olympics begin