South African Caster Semenya won a 2,000 meters at the Montreuil athletics meeting on Tuesday amid her ongoing legal battle with the IAAF over its testosterone rules. 

The double 800m Olympic champion, who was racing for the first time since a controversial new gender ruling came into effect, finished in 5min 38.19sec ahead of Ethiopian pair Hawi Feysa and Adanech Anbesa. 

Since May 8, new IAAF rules require women with higher than normal male hormone levels to artificially lower the amount of testosterone in their bodies if they are to compete in races over distances of 400m to the mile. 
 

"I can run any distance I want," the South African told reporters after winning her race in five minutes 38.19 in front of 1,650 spectators on the outskirts of Paris. 

She added, "I'm not going to talk about the appeal, I have a lawyer, I have a team. I am an athlete the only thing I focus on is my performance."

Asked if she would be defending her 800 meters title at the world championships, which start in September, Semenya replied: "Of course I'm an athlete, a world class athlete. My goals are very clear, I think I've made a statement in Doha (in May), running in 1:54(.98), it's pretty clear to me."

Semenya has appealed to the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT), who ruled last week that she can run in her favored 800 meters event without taking medication until her appeal has been ruled on. 

She was named in South Africa's preliminary squad for the world championships in Doha, though this is dependent on the outcome of her appeal to the SFT. 

She has so far not entered races in distances covered by the IAAF rules, having won the 5,000 meters national title this year. 

Her next race is expected to be the 3,000 meters of the Prefontaine Classic in Stanford, California, on June 30. 

(With input from AFP and Reuters)