The decision to hold the exhibition race was made during an Executive Board meeting, and it is scheduled to take place on February 21, the final day of the Championships in the Austrian city of Igls.

Competition is set to be held ahead of the final two runs of the men's four-man bobsleigh event, with the exhibition due to give female athletes the opportunity to take part in two runs down the Olympic Sliding Centre course.

Up to six training runs will be offered to the teams during the week from February 16 to 20, however the total number allowed will be released at a later date.

The IBSF have also confirmed that the same rules as the men's event will apply, while registration for the race is required through their e-license system.

From 2014,  female athletes had been permitted to participate in four-man bobsleigh events as part of a mixed team, with the governing body stating the change was to support equal opportunities.

The move saw mixed gender teams allowed at the Europa Cup Series, North American Cup Series, World Cup Series and World Championships.

Following the decision, two-time Olympic gold medallist Kaillie Humphries became the first woman to pilot a mixed gender team when she competed at the Canadian Four-man Bobsleigh Championships in November, with her team securing bronze.

Humphries and America’s Elana Meyers then became the first women to claim medals during an international four-man bobsleigh event when they finished second and third at the North American Cup later in November.

Women have competed in pairs since the early 1990s, but women's bobsleigh has only appeared on the Olympic schedule since the Salt Lake City 2002 Games.

Men have competed in the sport since the first Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924, with the exception of Squaw Valley 1960.

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September 2014: FIBT approves mixed-gender four-man bobsleigh teams