World Athletics Approves Swab Test To Determine Female Gender

Sebastian Coe, pictured after he finished third in the election to be International Olympic Committee president last week, said the swab test was an important way of protecting the female category (Credit: AFP)

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.