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 president of the international track and field federation, said the test, whose introduction was given the green light by the World Athletics Council, was a 'really important' way of protecting the female category.

'It's important to do it because it maintains everything that we've been talking about, and particularly recently, about not just talking about the integrity of female women's sport, but actually guaranteeing it,' Coe said in a press conference after the Council met over two days in Nanjing, China following the World Indoor Championships.

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

World Athletics has not fixed a date for the introduction of the test, but it is expected to be in place for the outdoor World Championships in Tokyo this September.