Semenya's future hangs in balance as she continues fight against World Athletics' hormone rules

JOHANNESBURG - The future of double Olympic champion Caster Semenya hangs in the balance as her bid to return to the centre stage is heard at the European Court of Human Rights' grand chamber on Wednesday.

She is hoping to overturn the World Athletics' rules which prevent her from competing due to her refusal to take hormone suppressants to be amended.

READ: Sports Dept hopeful European rights court will rule in Semenya's favour

Caster Semenya's name was not amongst the 39 athletes named by South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) earlier on Wednesday to represent South Africa at the Paris Olympics in July.

She’s in France for a different reason, instead, where she’s in a legal tussle with the Swiss government who upheld World Athletics’ regulations that stalled her career.

SASCOC president Barry Hendricks hopes she succeeds after he said her best years were taken from her.

"We feel she went through a process that really ruined her career. When you look at it, she was at her peak and because of these announcements, it really put a spanner in her development. We’ve always been supporting Caster and we hope that she will be successful."

The court will begin its deliberations, which will be held in private, after Wednesday’s hearing.

Its ruling in the matter will be made at a later stage.