World Athletics Approves Swab Test To Determine Female Gender

World Athletics said on Tuesday it had approved the introduction of a cheek swab test to determine if an athlete is biologically female.

Sebastian Coe, the head of the international track and field federation, said the decision taken by the bodys decision-making Council was a really important way of protecting the female category.

Its important to do it because it maintains everything that weve been talking about, and particularly recently, about not just talking about the integrity of female womens sport, but actually guaranteeing it, Coe said in a press conference after the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.

We feel this is a really important way of providing confidence and maintaining that absolute focus on the integrity of competition.

Coe said the decision was taken after a wide consultation on the proposal.