To qualify for her country’s team in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, sprinter Dutee Chand of India will have to clock a superfast 23.20 or less in the women’s 200-meter. But it’s thanks to Canada’s Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg that she doesn’t face the additional hurdle of having to prove that she’s eligible to compete in women’s track events in the first place.
In a case that made headlines around the world, on July 27 the Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended for two years the International Association of Athletics Federations’ hyperandrogenism regulations, which since 2011 have replaced a controversial gender verification policy with testosterone testing for certain female athletes. Chand challenged the rules with Davies Ward’s help after she was banned from competition in 2014 because of naturally occurring testosterone levels. Under the ruling, she will be permitted to participate in national and international athletic events while the rules are suspended.
