A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
 | |
| Formation | 18 July 1912 |
|---|---|
| Founded at | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Type | Sports federation |
| Headquarters | 6–8, quai Antoine-1er, Monaco |
Membership | 214 member federations |
President | Sebastian Coe |
Revenue (2019) | US$55 million[1] |
| Website | worldathletics.org |
Formerly called | IAAF (to October 2019) |
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF), is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, covering track and field, cross country running, road running, race walking, mountain running, and ultra running. Included in its charge is the standardization of rules and regulations for the sports, certification of athletic facilities, recognition and management of world records, and the organisation and sanctioning of athletics competitions, including the World Athletics Championships. The organisation's president is Sebastian Coe of the United Kingdom, who was elected to the four-year position in 2015 and re-elected unopposed in 2019 for a second four-year term, and then again in 2023 for a third and final 4 years.[2][3]
History
The process to found World Athletics began in Stockholm, Sweden, on 18 July 1912 soon after the completion of the 1912 Summer Olympics in that city. At that meeting, 27 representatives from 17 national federations agreed to meet at a congress in Berlin, Germany, the following year, overseen by Sigfrid Edström who was to become the fledgling organisation's first president. The 1913 congress formally completed the founding of what was then known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF).[4][5][6]
It was headquartered in Stockholm from 1912 to 1946, in London from 1946 to 1993, and thereafter moved to its current location in Monaco.
In 1926, the IAAF created a commission to regulate all ball games that were played by hand, including basketball and handball. Subsequently, the International Amateur Handball Federation was founded in 1928, and the International Basketball Federation was founded in 1932.
Beginning in 1982, the IAAF passed several amendments to its rules to allow athletes to receive compensation for participating in international competitions. However, the organization retained the word amateur in its name until its 2001 congress, at which it changed its name to the International Association of Athletics Federations. In June 2019 the organization chose to rebrand as World Athletics, with a rollout beginning after the 2019 World Championships in Doha.[7]
Following repeated requests, World Athletics became the last body within the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations to make public its financial reports in 2020. It revealed the organisation had revenue of around US$200 million spread over a four-year Olympic cycle, with around a fifth of that revenue coming from Olympic broadcasting rights. The reports showed a deficit in each of the non-Olympic years of 2017 and 2018 of around US$20 million. It also showed heavy dependence on its partnership with Japanese marketing agency Dentsu, which made up half of 2018's revenue. It also highlighted reserves of US$45 million at the end of 2018, which would allow the organisation to remain solvent in the face of delays to the 2020 Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][9] World Athletics Day is celebrated on 7 May.
In 2022, World Athletics imposed sanctions against the Member Federations of Russia and Belarus because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and all athletes, support personnel, and officials from Russia and Belarus were excluded from all World Athletics Series events for the foreseeable future, and Russian athletes who had received ANA status for 2022 were excluded from World Athletics Series events for the foreseeable future.[10] World Athletics Council also applied sanctions on the Belarus Athletic Federation, including banning its hosting of any international or European athletics events, representation at Congress or in decisions which require Congressional votes, involvement of its personnel in programs, and accreditation to attend any World Athletics Series events.[11]
Governance
World Athletics is headed by a president. The World Athletics Council has a total of 26 elected members, comprising one president, four vice-presidents (one senior), the presidents of the six area associations, two members of the Athletes' Commission and 13 Council members. Each member of the Council is elected for a four-year period by the World Athletics Congress, a biennial gathering of athletics officials that consists of the Council, Honorary Members, and up to three delegates from each of the national member federations.[12] Chairpersons and members of Committees, which manage specialist portfolios, are also elected by the Congress. There are four committees: the Cross Country Committee, the Race Walking Committee, the Technical Committee, and the Women's Committee.[13] A further three committees were launched in 2019: Development, Governance and Competitions.[14] The governance structure is outlined in the World Athletics Constitution, which may be amended by the Congress.[15]
The World Athletics Council appoints a chief executive officer (CEO), who is focused on improving the coverage of the sport and the organisation's commercial interests. This role was created and merged with the General Secretary role that had existed previously. British former athlete and businessman Jon Ridgeon was appointed to the role in December 2018.[16] Olivier Gers was the first person to officially hold the position in 2016, succeeding the interim CEO/General Secretary Jean Gracia.[17]
In order to give active athletes a voice in the governance of the sport, World Athletics created the Athletes' Commission. Athletes are elected to the commission by other athletes, typically held at the Congress attached to the World Athletics Championships. The commission chairperson and one other athlete of the opposite sex are given voting rights on the Council. The last election was held in October 2019 at the 2019 World Athletics Championships.[18]
Following doping and corruption issues, a Code of Ethics was agreed in 2013 and an Ethics Commission was appointed in 2014.[19] The Council appoints the chairperson from the elected members, and in turn, the chairperson appoints a deputy chair.[20] The Ethics Board's scope was limited in 2017 with the creation of the independent Athletics Integrity Unit, headed by Australia's Brett Clothier, to oversee ethical issues and complaints at arm's length.[21]
The International Athletics Foundation is a charity closely associated with World Athletics that engages in projects and programmes to develop the sport. Albert II, Prince of Monaco is the Honorary President and the role of IAF President is held by the World Athletics President.[22] A World Athletics Heritage department was created in 2018 to maintain historic artifacts and display them through a physical gallery in Monaco, a virtual online gallery, and a traveling exhibition. The department also issues World Athletics Heritage Plaques to commemorate locations of historic interest to the sport.[23]
Presidents
There have been six presidents since the establishment of World Athletics:
| Name | Country | Presidency |
|---|---|---|
| Sigfrid Edström |  Sweden
|
1912–1946 |
| Lord Burghley |  United Kingdom
|
1946–1976 |
| Adriaan Paulen |  Netherlands
|
1976–1981 |
| Primo Nebiolo |  Italy
|
1981–1999 |
| Lamine Diack |  Senegal
|
1999–2015 |
| Lord Coe | United Kingdom
|
2015–present |
World Athletics Council
.JPG)
| Name | Role | Country | Profession |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastian Coe | President | United Kingdom |
Former athlete and politician |
| Sergey Bubka | Senior Vice-President |  Ukraine |
Former athlete |
| Ximena Restrepo | Vice-President |  Colombia |
Former athlete |
| Geoff Gardner | Vice-President Area Association President |
 Norfolk Island |
Politician |
| Nawaf Bin Mohammed Al Saud | Vice-President |  Saudi Arabia |
Prince and sports administrator |
| Hiroshi Yokokawa | Council Member |  Japan |
Businessman |
| Antti Pihlakoski | Council Member |  Finland |
Sports administrator |
| Anna Riccardi | Council Member | Italy |
Translator and sports administrator |
| Nan Wang | Council Member |  China |
Sports administrator |
| Adille Sumariwalla | Council Member |  India |
Former athlete and businessman |
| Nawal El Moutawakel | Council Member |  Morocco |
Former athlete |
| Abby Hoffman | Council Member |  Canada |
Former athlete |
| Sylvia Barlag | Council Member | Netherlands |
Former athlete and physicist |
| Alberto Juantorena | Council Member |  Cuba |
Former athlete |
| Willie Banks | Council Member |  United States |
Former athlete |
| Raúl Chapado | Council Member |  Spain |
Former athlete |
| Dobromir Karamarinov | Council Member |  Bulgaria |
Former athlete and coach |
| Beatrice Ayikoru | Council Member |  Uganda |
Sports administrator |
| Víctor López | Area Association President |  Puerto Rico |
Track and field coach |
| Hamad Kalkaba Malboum | Area Association President |  Cameroon |
Former athlete and military official |
| Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad | Area Association President |  Qatar |
Sports administrator |
| Svein Arne Hansen | Area Association President |  Norway |
Track meet director |
| Roberto Gesta de Melo | Area Association President |  Brazil |
Sports administrator |
| Iñaki Gómez | Athlete's Commission Member | Canada |
Former athlete |
| Valerie Adams | Athlete's Commission Member |  New Zealand |
Former athlete |
Athletes' Commission
- Members elected in 2019
Following
- Renaud Lavillenie (FRA), 627 votes
- Valerie Adams (NZL), 613 votes
- Bernard Lagat (USA), 589 votes
- Kevin Borlée (BEL), 572 votes
- Katerina Stefanidi (GRE), 556 votes
- Aisha Praught-Leer (JAM), votes
- Existing members
- Iñaki Gómez (CAN)
- Kim Collins (SKN)
- Adam Kszczot (POL)
- Thomas Röhler (GER)
- Ivana Španović (SRB)
- Benita Willis (AUS)
Chairpersons
- Athletes' Commission: Iñaki Gómez (CAN)
- Ethics Board: Michael Beloff (GBR)
- Cross Country Committee: Carlos Cardoso (POR)
- Race Walking Committee: Maurizio Damilano (ITA)
- Technical Committee: Jorge Salcedo (POR)
- Women's Committee: Esther Fittko (GER)
- Athletics Integrity Unit: David Howman (NZL)
Area associations
World Athletics has a total of 214 member federations divided into 6 area associations.[24][25]
- AAA – Asian Athletics Association in Asia
- CAA – Confederation of African Athletics in Africa
- CONSUDATLE – Confederación Sudamericana de Atletismo in South America
- EAA – European Athletic Association in Europe
- NACAC – North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association in North America
- OAA – Oceania Athletics Association in Oceania
Partner organisations
As of 1 November 2015:[26]
- Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS)
- International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU)
- International Paralympic Committee (IPC Athletics)
- International Trail Running Association (ITRA)
- World Masters Athletics (WMA)
- World Mountain Running Association (WMRA)
- Elite Ltd (for incorporation of statistics from all-athletics.com into World Athletics website)[27]
Rules and regulations
Age
To allow athletes of different ages to compete against athletes of similar ability, several age categories are maintained. The open class of competition without age limit is defined as "senior". For younger athletes, World Athletics organises events for under-20 athletes (athletes aged 18 or 19 years on 31 December of the year of the competition) as well as under-18 athletes (athletes aged 16 or 17 years on 31 December of the year of the competition), historically referred to as "junior" and "youth" age groups, respectively.[28] Age-group competitions over the age of 35 are organised by World Masters Athletics and are divided into five-year groupings.
Doping
The organisation is a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Agency's World Anti-Doping Code and applies sanctions to athletes, coaches and other sportspeople who breach the code through doping or impeding any anti-doping actions.[29] Doping is still a serious issue in world athletics due to the increased use of banned substances by athletes to improve their athletic performance.[30] To address the problem, athletes participating in sports are required to sign the World Anti-Doping Agency code and are subjected to random urine and/or blood samples testing, leading to penalties like game suspension, or lifetime ban for violating code.[31]
Sex
International level athletics competitions are mostly divided by sex and World Athletics applies eligibility rules for the women's category. World Athletics has regulations for intersex and transgender athletes. The differences of sex development (DSD) regulations apply to athletes who are legally female or intersex and have certain physiology. DSD athletes who are legally female or intersex are subject to specific rules if they have XY male chromosomes, testes rather than ovaries, circulating testosterone in the typical male range (7.7 to 29.4 nmol/L), and are androgen-sensitive so that their bodies make use of that testosterone. World Athletics requires any such athlete to reduce their blood testosterone level to 5 nmol/L or lower for a six-month period before becoming eligible for international competition.[32]
The rules have been challenged by affected athletes in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), though no athlete has done so successfully. In May 2019, CAS upheld the rules on the basis that discrimination against the minority of DSD athletes was proportional as a method of preserving access to the female category to a much larger majority of women without DSDs.[33]
In 2023, World Athletics tightened their regulations further, excluding transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in the female category. The new regulations also reduced the testosterone limit for androgen-sensitive XY DSD athletes to 2.5 nmol/L and extended the limit to apply to all women's events, where it had previously only applied to track events of distances between 400m and one mile. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe described this as "decisive action to protect the female category in our sport".[34]
Certified Athletic Facilities
World Athletics provides approval certificates to venues of athletic facilities: Class 1, Class 2 and Indoor.[35] To receive certification, venues are required to submit measurement reports of their track and field facilities.
Class 1 venues are fully certified along with in-situ tests of the actual synthetic track surface, whilst Class 2 venues only ensures that the synthetic surface has a valid Product Certificate (from an accredited synthetic track surface manufacturer) and the facility conforms to the stringent requirements for accurate measurement contained in World Athletics Rules and Regulations.
Competitions
World Athletics organizes many major athletics competitions worldwide.
World Athletics Series
| Competition | Sport | Frequency | First held | Last held |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Athletics Championships† | Outdoor athletics | Biennial | 1983 | Ongoing |
| World Athletics Indoor Championships | Indoor track and field | Biennial | 1985 | Ongoing |
| World Athletics Cross Country Championships | Cross country running | Biennial | 1973 | Ongoing |
| World Athletics Road Running Championships‡ | Half marathon, 5K run, mile run | Biennial | 1992 | Ongoing |
| World Athletics U20 Championships†† | Outdoor track and field | Biennial | 1986 | Ongoing |
| World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships††† | Racewalking | Biennial | 1961 | Ongoing |
| World Athletics Relays | Outdoor track relays | Biennial | 2014 | Ongoing |
| World Athletics Trail and Mountain Running Championships | Trail and mountain running | Biennial | 2021[36] | Ongoing |
| IAAF Continental Cup†††† | Outdoor track and field | Quadrennial | 1977 | 2018 |
| IAAF World U18 Championships in Athletics | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=IAAF_(identifier)