Caster Semenya to race the Pre Classic 3,000m, not required to lower testosterone

Caster Semenya is scheduled to race the Pre Classic 3,000m on June 30 in one of the strongest fields North American soil has ever seen. The field is stacked with Olympic and World Championship medallist Genzebe Dibaba, defending 5,000m world champion Hellen Obiri and Olympic 5,000m medallist Sifan Hassan.

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Hassan recently set the 5K world record, ran a 31:18.12 debut in the 10,000m this spring at Payton Jordan and a 65:45 half-marathon in April. Obiri is the reigning world cross-country champion on what’s considered one of the toughest courses in recent history, and Dibaba owns seven world records. This field is insane.

RELATED: Semenya testosterone ruling to be appealed

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Athletics South Africa has announced that they are in the process of appealing the CAS’s decision to support the IAAF in their testosterone cap for female athletes. Their decision, which came out May 1, declares that athletes with DSD had to take steps to lower their testosterone to not more than five nmol/L by May 8 to be eligible to compete in this year’s world championships in Doha in September at any distance from 400m through the mile.

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RELATED: Pre Classic to feature 6 of the fastest women in steeplechase history

Semenya will run the 3,000m against a top-notch group of women, most of which specialize in longer events. The 3,000m was not included in the IAAF’s decision as it’s not an Olympic distance and is typically only run on either the European or Diamond League circuits.

The American contingent competing in the Pre Classic 3K are six-time NCAA champion Karissa Schweizer and Rachel Schneider who has run the world leading 5,000m time for 2019. The Pre Classic runs on June 30 in Palo Alto, California.